


young gods

by movingforthesakeofmotion



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Major character death - Freeform, The Purge AU, hope you enjoy it, i've had this idea stuck in my head for awhile and then I just kind of ended up writing it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-13
Updated: 2015-10-28
Packaged: 2018-04-26 05:34:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 62,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4992244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/movingforthesakeofmotion/pseuds/movingforthesakeofmotion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When it all began to fall apart, they brought in the Purge as a means to an end...a way to help prevent crime from continuing to rise by allowing a "cleansing" period of 12 consecutive hours. Lexa's never found a reason not to fight for the people in need, to help stop innocent people from dying...until she meets Clarke Griffin barely ten minutes into the 12 hour nightmare that takes over their City once a year, where every and any crime is legal...including murder.</p><p>The Purge AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_“Attention all Jaha University students. In light of tonight’s Annual Purge, we would like to remind students to ensure that they are back on campus grounds before 6 o’clock this evening. Any students who fail to arrive on campus grounds before this time will be locked outside for the remainder of the evening until 7 o’clock tomorrow morning when The Purge concludes. This is to ensure not only the safety of the school, but the safety of the students. These precautions include locking all entrances and exits to the campus, and placing well trained, professional security officers at each of these points. We would also like to remind you, that should you be locked out and should you suffer any injuries during tonight’s events, the school will not be held accountable. These rules were explicitly stated in the contracts you signed upon admission. Those wishing to participate in tonight’s events must be over 18 years of age, and will immediately need to visit the administration office for sign out forms. The same rules apply to any who are injured participating in tonight’s events. Blessed be our new Founding Fathers and America, a nation reborn. May God be with you all.”_

The second the disembodied voice echoing throughout the streets fades, she slowly opens her eyes, instantly blinking from the sunlight that shines through her window. She registers the way her body seems to filter in the heat from the sun’s rays, the way her skin seems to crawl with chills from the bitingly cold weather before the sun makes contact with her body and goosebumps form. 

She groans and rolls over in her bed, her muscles screaming in protest from the beating they took last night as she faces the ceiling with a sigh and a yawn. 

She lives almost fifteen minutes away from the Jaha University campus and yet, she can still hear the announcements for the Purge every single year. It’s tiring and annoying, and it’s a constant reminder of pain and suffering and the fact that some people are safe during this night while a majority of them are not. A reminder of the unending abyss of a black hole that is the society she lives in. 

Besides, she’s pretty sure she hears it enough all around her when she’s on the streets, the whispers and the frantic looks exchanged as people try their best to think of a way not to die on the one night where death is so inevitable, it’s like a second form of breathing. 

Lexa wishes this night didn’t exist altogether. But no matter how hard she wishes, it’s futile and she knows it. She might as well be wishing for a limitless supply of money or for everyone who’s died because of this night to magically come back to life. The Purge will always be here, a reminder of the pain and suffering she’s been through and the people she’s lost, like an incessant thought in the back of your mind that drives you crazy enough to sigh in frustration and get angry, but not enough to make you want to jump off the nearest cliff to end it all.

An involuntary shudder creeps through her body, and she closes her eyes before dragging her arm up and resting it over her face so she’s shrouded in darkness.

This night is not something she wants to go through. It’s something she wishes she could avoid altogether. She wishes there was a magical button she could press that would immediately make her immune to any and all things Purge related, so that she could relax and not have to worry about herself or anyone else who might be in danger for once in her life. It’s always been like this, worrying and wondering and suffering and losing…losing everything.

_Don’t think about that._

She’s blinded by light once more as she reaches out and grabs her phone on her bedside table to distract herself from her thoughts. She groans again when she sees the time. It’s almost 10. She usually doesn’t sleep in, because sleeping in means more hours of the day are cut off and she’s one step closer to this bitch of a night, but considering the fact that she didn’t get home until 2 last night because she was training, she figures today she can make an exception. 

She lies in bed for a few moments, taking deep breaths in and trying not to think about tonight, about how many people will die and how many people she’ll try to save who will still die because she’s a failure and if she couldn’t save the woman she loved, how the hell can she save anyone else?

 _Don’t think about that._

She squints at the sunlight filtering through the drapes of her window before rolling her legs off the bed and sitting up. She takes a moment, breathing deeply and closing her eyes so that all she hears is the shouts and screams from outside her window, panicked and scared as everything begins to sink in. Another Purge. Another night of anarchy and death. 

Her hair falls around her face and she swipes it back with one hand before standing and walking toward the refrigerator. She reminds herself for the hundredth time that she really needs to invest in getting an apartment that is more than one gigantic room with a bed in one corner, a living room opposite it and a kitchen in another corner. At least the bathroom’s in a separate room…

She opens the refrigerator and bends down, only to be met with disappointment, which she figures isn’t much different to her every day encounters with life in general. Leftover potato salad from last night and a half empty carton of milk. She sighs and stands before throwing the door shut in frustration. Money is tight and she finished her box of cereal yesterday. 

No breakfast then. She walks back towards her bed and grabs the remote on her bedside table, flicking the TV on. The second it statics to life and bursts with color, she ties her hair up in a loose bun and smooths out her tank top and shorts before stretching her arms and legs. Her limbs protest with each stretch, and she can see the multiple bruises already forming on her arms and legs, but she straightens and looks to the ground before taking a deep breath in, leaning forward and falling to the floor. She stops her fall with her arms before pushing herself up and down, up and down, up and down… 

Of course, everything on the TV is about The Purge. They first begin with how The Purge has helped over the years, and how this year, there will be extra security measures for the politicians and other VIP’s after the death of a government official last year. Killing anyone above or at a Level 10 government position is prohibited. Everyone else is fodder. That’s how this government views her. As fodder. As the mouse stuck in the cage while the cats circle the cage in excitement. She grits her teeth and pushes faster, her arms protesting, but she ignores it. 

They continue babbling about the perks of The Purge (all the while dismissing the cons), making sure to point out how crime all across the country has decreased exponentially and hit a new low. She’s good at blocking things out, but even with the distraction of doing push-ups, she can’t block out the next sentence emitting from some news reporter sitting behind his desk, a smirk of some idiotic kind on his face.

_“And may we never forget the sacrifice of those who will lose their lives tonight, in order for the people of this great nation to cleanse themselves-”_

She freezes. Her arms can’t push her anymore. Nothing can push her anymore. She’s shaking in anger. She bends her knees and sits up on them, grabbing the remote on the bed and shutting the TV off, resisting the urge to throw the remote at the TV in her anger so it hits the reporter right in his stupid, smug face. She’s sweating despite the freezing temperature, and she’s pretty sure it has nothing to do with her short work out session. 

Sacrifice themselves…like they choose this. It’s like they inherently choose not to acknowledge that everything to do with the Purge was made by them, approved by them, done by them. They’re the religious cult filled with nutcases and the people they govern are the sacrifice. The death of a thousand innocents is nothing, but one government official gets popped and all of a sudden, there’s extra security at all government buildings, because they matter. But the people don’t. They never do.

She shakes her head in an attempt to quell her anger and instead contemplates taking a hot shower (or a warm one, as that’s the best this crappy building and this crappy apartment can do) when she hears loud bangs and yelling upstairs. She jumps before looking up at her ceiling with a sigh. It’s nothing new. The couple upstairs have been constantly bickering at each other for months. Although whoever started the argument shouldn’t have done it on the night that pretty much every crime is legal. Including murder.

She’s beginning to think there might be more than one person leaving this building in a body bag in 24 hours. She wishes she could help, but she has bigger things to do. She can’t save everyone…no matter how hard she tries. Her phone vibrates against her bedside table before ringing loudly, and she walks over to it and picks it up before answering with a sigh.

“Hello?”

“Lexa…” She immediately knows who it is, but she frowns at the sound of her strained voice and she can hear loud arguing and raised voices in the background.

“Anya? Is everything okay?” 

“No, not really.” Anya sighs. Lexa sits down on her bed and waits patiently, even though her heart is racing and she isn’t sure what has got Anya so riled up, but she’s sure it’s nothing good because Anya’s the pure definition of ‘calm’.

“What’s wrong?” Anya sighs again, more loudly this time and Lexa feels her heart drop to somewhere below her stomach.

“Something big is going down tonight. We’ve received a tip off that Cage possibly knows about my safe-house and is going to give the order to hit us tonight. We’re going to try and beat him to the punch, but we don’t know anything about when he’s hitting us or how. We have around ten guys who are staying behind to take in people, but…I don’t think it’s going to be safe, Lexa.” Lexa stares at the black screen of the TV for a few moments in silence, her mind reeling. This isn’t possible. It simply isn’t. They’ve been fine for ten years, Cage continuing his battle against them in frustration, unable to locate them or find them…how did he find their safe-house? What is she supposed to do? 

_Fight with her._

“What do you want me to do?” She asks calmly, anticipating Anya’s answer already. 

“I don’t know, just…try and find somewhere safe. You can go to Indra’s, or you can stay home, lock the doors…keep a weapon with you.” Anya says softly, but Lexa shakes her head. She’s not a coward. She’s not going to stay home and hide the whole night while Anya risks her life to stop Cage.

“I can fight with you, Anya, you know I can-”

“No. It’s too dangerous.” Anya interrupts sharply. Lexa glares at the phone for a moment before taking a deep breath in and trying to contain the anger in her voice, because this is beyond ridiculous.

“Anya, I know you care for me, but I’m old enough and skilled enough to fight! You’ve taught me everything you know! I’ve fought by your side!” She hears Anya sigh in frustration.

“Not this battle! Lexa, tonight…it’s going to result in a lot of dead bodies and I am NOT prepared to put you at risk! You’re too important!” She clenches her jaw in order to stop herself from screaming at the phone. She loves Anya, but this overprotectiveness is maddening. She has every right to fight…every right to want to stop these people.

“How am I important, Anya? I’m nothing special-”

“You’re important to me!” Anya hisses. Lexa pauses for a moment, unsure of what to say. It’s strange for her, because Anya is special and important to her, but there isn’t anything she wants more than to fight and die by her side. Fighting for this cause, for the end of this fucking madness so that people can no longer worry about being a sacrifice, or dying for “the greater good”…

“Lexa, please. I can’t focus tonight if I don’t know whether you’re safe or not. Please just promise me that if you can’t make it to Indra’s, you’ll stay home, keep the doors locked and stay as safe as you can.” Anya’s voice cracks, whether from strain or emotion, she can’t tell. Lexa rubs her eyes tiredly. She can’t seem to accept it…the fact that she won’t be fighting tonight. That she won’t be out there helping save people from the monsters that hunt them. She’s done this for three years now, has been preparing for this all year and now what? She has to stay home?

“Anya, where am I supposed to get a weapon that isn’t an entire four months’ worth of rent before tonight?” Lexa sighs, and she hears Anya breathe a sigh of relief on the other side.

“I’ll-I’ll drop by, give you something. Nothing big, but something that’s enough to keep you safe for the night.” Lexa can feel her anxiety beginning to rise. She can’t just stay holed up in her apartment. She never has, she’s not about to start now. This is her cause just as much as it is Anya’s.

“Anya…”

“Lexa, please. Do this for me.” Lexa’s about to argue when it hits her that there is a very real possibility Anya might die tonight. She might die and Lexa might never see her again. The ache in her chest is unbearable just at the thought of it being a possibility, because losing Anya means she’s lost everything and everyone important to her. What else will there be for her once Anya is gone? The answer is nothing. Nothing but her inescapable black hole of anger and grief. 

The thought itself cripples her.

“Anya…come by, alright? You and I can go and just…I don’t know, get the fattiest, greasiest food we can and just take our minds off the Purge until sundown, alright?” Eating fatty and greasy food is definitely not an activity Lexa partakes in but, Anya’s life is at risk tonight more than it has ever been before and she finds she’s willing to eat an entire restaurant of its stock if it means spending time with her. Anya chuckles.

“I can’t, I have to help everyone prepare…”

“We can at least get breakfast.” Lexa interrupts desperately. She’s clearly not going to be able to eat potato salad for breakfast, and there’s nothing else she can eat. Anya’s silent for a few moments and Lexa knows she’s got her when she chuckles once more.

“Alright…I’ll be there in half an hour.” 

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_"We would also like to remind you, that should you be locked out and should you suffer any injuries during tonight’s events, the school will not be held accountable. These rules were explicitly stated in the…”_

“’Contracts you signed upon admission to the school.’” She mutters under her breath, dragging her pencil along the piece of paper torn from her book with repeated strokes. The announcement continues and Clarke doesn’t pay any attention to it, instead shaking her left hand to alleviate the pain from drawing for the last hour before tightening her hold on her pencil once more.

She isn’t exactly sure what she’s attempting to draw here, but it’s coming along nicely, as usual. It’ll probably end up in the formation of a forest or trees surrounding a lake. She isn’t sure why her subconscious seems to always draw scenery that involves forest or woods, or some isolated area surrounded in nothing but beautiful trees of every green and orange color imaginable when she can’t think of anything else to draw. It just happens automatically, like breathing or blinking.

She isn’t sure where her talent for art came from, but she’s glad it exists. It helps her relax, helps her keep her mind off things…things she’d rather forget. Memories are an incredibly harsh thing and she hates the fact that she has them. Sometimes she wishes she could wipe her mind blank and start with a clean slate, forget any pain she’s ever felt and just start fresh. She looks up to see the slightly blurred and faded figures of three people in what appears to be deep argument due to the frantic movements and raised voices. She hears a slight sigh of breath and turns her head to see her best friend staring at her with a raised eyebrow.

“They’re taking forever, we are in so much shit…” Raven says, her chocolate brown eyes shrouded in worry, but there’s a slight curl in her lip that masks it, instead portraying a sarcastic-like grin and an almost nonchalant attitude about the whole thing. Clarke shrugs, not wanting to talk about the anxiety that’s currently coursing through her and causing her stomach to clench. She drags her gaze back down to her book, continuing to draw the curve she was tracing over. She notices it’s beginning to form into a small pond of some sort.

“We probably are, but who cares? Tonight’s the Purge, we won’t get any punishment.” Clarke looks up at the sound of Finn’s voice to find him dangling upside down from his chair, his feet hitting the wall. He’s playing with a leaf that’s long since died and fallen from the plant beside him, his shoulder length brown hair slightly brushing against the floor. Raven rolls her eyes and kicks her leg out at him and he dodges it by sitting up. 

“Hey…” He turns and grins toward his girlfriend, his kind, brown eyes crinkling from his smile and Raven chuckles underneath her breath at him before attempting to kick him once more. Clarke abandons her interest in their play-fighting and goes back to her drawing before the door that leads to the room where the blurred figures are arguing opens. 

Clarke immediately drops her book and pencil in the seat beside her and stands, her heart dropping slightly.

The first to exit is her mother, who meets her gaze with a stern and exasperated look. She’s followed by Marcus Kane, the head of the Council at the school. Last but not least to exit the room is Thelonious Jaha, the Dean of Jaha University, who’s so high up and so pompously arrogant, he changed the name of the University to his own the second his father retired.

Clarke hates him, to be quite honest. For personal reasons, but also because he’s arrogant and incredibly selfish, two things Clarke hates more than anything. He looks at them each individually before putting his hands on his hips.

“Well, considering that tonight is a very serious night, and the…misbehavior of a few students is not our top priority right now, we’re going to let you off the hook.” Finn immediately grins widely and chuckles under his breath and Clarke feels like stabbing him in the eye with her pencil because there is no way there’s no catch in all of this. Jaha narrows his eyes and looks at Finn coldly.

“Let you off the hook…for tonight.” The smile on Finn’s face is wiped off immediately and Clarke closes her eyes, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“Starting the day after tomorrow, you will report here every day for the remainder of the year at exactly five o’clock in the morning to begin your janitorial duties. That means scrubbing the floors, cleaning the toilets, vacuuming the classrooms, fixing any broken lights and any other duties before beginning your school day at 8. Your weekend privileges have also been revoked.” Kane says, his face completely bare of any emotion, like a robot, but his arms are crossed over his chest tightly.

“Wait, for the whole year? But-” Raven argues, her face contorted in fury, but Clarke interrupts her by holding up a hand.

“Maintenance? You want us to carry out maintenance chores?” Clarke says, looking back and forth between the three adults in front of her. She feels her heart rate beginning to settle as Jaha raises an eyebrow at her.

“You’re lucky it wasn’t worse.” Her mother says sternly, but Clarke sighs in relief. Maintenance duties isn’t too bad…

“Come on, all we did was-” Finn starts.

“Break into the Factory Station in the middle of the night and cause over $2000 worth of damages to equipment?” Jaha barks, glaring at Finn and stepping toward him with an almost deranged look in his eyes. Clarke feels her jaw drop and she can’t help but turn her glare towards Finn, who looks away from Jaha and at her with a sheepish grin that only looks about 5% guilty.

“Sorry…” He whistles. Clarke eyes move to Raven, who looks halfway between mortified and trying not to laugh as she covers her mouth with her hand and turns away. Clarke kind of feels like hitting both of them over the head with a mallet, or skinning them alive. Whichever hurts more.

This was their stupid idea. No, scratch that, Finn’s stupid idea. Raven tried to stop him as well, but eventually gave in when he wouldn’t stop saying that everything would be ‘okay’. How knocking over a stack of heavy boxes, regardless of whether it was accidental or not, and causing a domino effect of destruction is anywhere near ‘okay’, Clarke has no idea. Of course, Clarke didn’t stop persisting in trying to stop them, but Finn was just as arrogant and stubborn as Jaha, and so of course, she ended up getting caught with them when a security officer heard the racket.

“Look, we didn’t mean to do that, we were just trying to have some fun-” Raven starts.

“Your ‘fun’ resulted in damages that will cost us a fortune to get back! Now if I were you, I would go back to your dorms and stay there until five o’clock in the morning the day after tomorrow. You’re dismissed.” Jaha looks to Kane, who still looks bored, but annoyed as he nods once and follows him out of the room. 

Raven sighs and rubs her forehead before extending her hand to Finn, who takes it, his expression remorseful, but not entirely regretful. Clarke’s about to follow them out, intent on just going to her dorm, sleeping for a few hours and finishing her drawing before suffering through tonight, but-

“Clarke. A word?” She closes her eyes, sighing. She knew it was coming, and yet…

“I’ll see you guys later.” Clarke says, opening her eyes and nodding once to Raven, who bites her lip and sighs sympathetically before dragging Finn out. As soon as the door closes behind her, Clarke turns to face her mother, who holds out her book and pencil to her. She takes it hesitantly and her mother sighs, rubbing her forehead anxiously.

“I know you more than likely tried to stop them in order to keep Raven from getting in trouble.” She says, smiling up at her daughter tiredly. Her smile doesn’t meet her hazel eyes though and Clarke simply nods, avoiding eye contact.

“That’s pretty much exactly how it happened.” Her mother chuckles and nods.

“Thought so. I tried to tell Thelonious but…he told me that if he let you off the hook, the others would get upset, so…” Clarke sighs and shakes her head, wanting to simply go back to her dorm, please let her go back to her dorm…

“It’s fine. I don’t mind doing the chores.”

“But your weekend privileges…”

“I don’t really like going out into the City anyway. It’s fine, we got off easy. I’m glad.” Clarke really is glad, because she never really enjoyed her weekend privileges that basically forced her to go to the one place she despises in this entire country. Now, she can simply stay in her dorm and avoid everyone, just like she enjoys doing. Just like she’d enjoy doing right now. Her mother nods once before sighing and looking at her daughter carefully.

“You alright?” Clarke simply shrugs, even though right now she kind of wants to knock her mother out with something so she’ll stop talking and let her go to her dorm in peace where she can ignore everything. Ignore her punishment, ignore her mother, ignore this school, try to ignore the fact that her night tonight will be restless and sleepless due to the screams and cries she knows she’ll hear echoing from the City…

“I know tonight’s rough, but-”

“Can I just go, please?” Clarke interrupts. Her mother starts before looking at her daughter with sad eyes for a few moments. She stands straight and walks toward her, her hand resting on Clarke’s shoulder. Her fingers are tight as they clutch her, and Clarke sees her jaw clench before she smiles tightly.

“Your father wouldn’t want you to be upset about this night, Clarke. It may have taken his life-”

Her mother doesn’t get another word in before Clarke slaps her hand away and turns, shaking in anger as she walks straight out of the door without a backward glance.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

“Now this is a breakfast.” 

Lexa leans back into her booth with a laugh as Anya, whose sitting opposite of her, takes a whole pancake, flips it into a roll and shoves it into her mouth with a grin, her hazel eyes filled with excitement. She moans and smiles, chuckling through her mouthful of food. 

“Why have we never been here?” She manages to murmur out. 

“Because you’re kind of preoccupied most of the time to come dine at J.J’s Diner, where we’ve got the best breakfast foods in the country!” Lexa says, putting on a southern accent for the last few words. Anya laughs and shakes her head as Lexa raises her glass of orange juice and toasts her, raising her glass to Anya before drinking from it. 

This is something that has never happened for them before. Anya has always been so busy preparing for this one night every year that Lexa has never really had the opportunity to just have FUN with her. Lexa doesn’t like to admit it, but she actually enjoys letting loose every once in a while. Despite everything in their lives, it doesn’t have to be business all the time. She wishes Anya could see that. But Anya’s in the middle of trying to lead a revolt against the government, so she doubts Anya even has the word ‘fun’ in her vocabulary. She takes a bite of the waffle on her plate before reaching for another one. 

“This was a good idea.” Anya finally says after swallowing her mouthful of food.

“Right?” Lexa says, grinning up at her as she shoves another mouthful of waffle into her mouth.

“We’re definitely doing this again sometime.” Anya says, reaching for another stack of pancakes, an almost childish grin on her face and Lexa ignores the pang in her heart at the thought of Anya’s life being in danger tonight. She could die. But it can’t happen. If she dies, Lexa’s pretty sure this revolution dies with her. Maybe not all over the country, but here, where it matters to them. Without Anya, everything burns. Everything burns into ashes and dust and even more innocent people than before will be forced to burn with it.

“I’ll hold you to that.” 

“Hold me to what?” Anya asks, not looking up from the stack of pancakes she’s currently drowning in maple syrup.

“Us doing breakfast here. Tomorrow. Same thing.” Anya stops squeezing the bottle of maple syrup and looks up at her with a sigh.

“Lexa…”

“No, promise me. Promise me we’re going to be here tomorrow, doing the same thing as today.” She isn’t sure why she needs this from Anya. Maybe because Anya is her only friend and the only person she cares about. Maybe because Anya’s like the sister she never had. Maybe because Anya is the first constant thing in her life since her parents died…since she lost Cost-

_Don’t think about that!_

“You’re willing to do this again tomorrow? You hate eating fatty foods.” Lexa is pulled out of her thoughts and she looks at Anya to see her smirking at her, her eyebrow raised.

“I can make an exception. A ‘we’re still alive let’s get fat’ exception. Besides, I’m totally hitting the gym after this, so I can do the same tomorrow. No big deal.” Lexa says, shrugging. Anya laughs before her eyes roam down to Lexa’s exposed arms.

“You’re all bruised, by the way. You need to tell Lincoln to go easy on you.” 

“If I did, he’d never let me live it down, now don’t change the subject. Promise me.” Anya’s smile fades and she sighs.

“I’ll try,” Anya whispers. Lexa’s about to open her mouth to argue, but Anya reaches for her hand and grips it tightly, like she’s a lifeline. “That’s the best I can do, Lexa, and you know it. I’m not going to promise you something I might not be able to deliver on.” Lexa stares at their intertwined hands for a long time, her whole body suddenly turning cold before she looks up at Anya, taking in almost every detail of her face. The freckles on her cheeks, her hazel eyes that look like molten gold…

_Please don’t let her die tonight._

“Alright.” Anya smiles before she lets her hand slip gently out of Lexa’s. They eat for a little longer in silence, Lexa watching Anya, taking in everything about her. 

She can’t lose her. She needs to make it through tonight. If Anya dies, Lexa may as well grab the nearest weapon and kill herself with it. She can’t possibly survive without Anya. None of them can.

Anya suddenly sits back and rubs her stomach with a sigh. She smiles at Lexa before wiping her mouth and cleaning her hands with a napkin.

“Alright. I’m stuffed.” Lexa can’t help but smile and Anya chuckles before sliding out of her booth and standing. She reaches into her coat and pulls out her wallet before opening it and dropping a fifty dollar bill on the table. Lexa immediately leans forward, reaching for her wallet beside her and shaking her head.

“Anya-”

“It’s okay. I know you’re short on money. Keep the change.” Lexa sighs because she knows when it comes to money, there’s no point in arguing with her, and Anya rolls her eyes.

“Don’t be so stubborn.” She runs a hand through her dark blonde hair before reaching into her coat pocket and taking out a white, medium sized rectangle box. She holds it out to Lexa, who looks at it.

“Here.” Lexa reaches for it with confusion and Anya smiles gently.

“It took a lot of convincing and a lot of yelling. Also a punch or two. But when I finally managed to spit out that it was for you, she gave it without hesitation.” Lexa sets it down on the table next to her pancakes and opens it. She catches the glimpse of silver and shuts it quickly, looking around to see if anyone is watching them. When she determines the cost is clear, she opens it again.

“It’s Echo’s Colt M1911.” Anya says. Lexa studies the gun carefully, taking in the familiar engraved drawings of a bunny skull with a pole going through its eye, and thorns and black flowers around the pole on both sides of the gun’s slide.

“She loves this gun.” Lexa says, touching it gently. The metal is cool under her touch, scratched and rough where the drawings have been engraved, worn from battle, but still intimidating. 

“Yes, but she also loves you. She expects it back though, so you better survive tonight,” Anya says with a smile, but when Lexa looks up at her, there’s a hint of worry in her eyes. “There’s three magazines in there. Hopefully you won’t need that many.” 

“Thank you.” Lexa says, smiling at her before shutting the box once more. Anya smiles lightly before wrapping her coat tighter around her body and stepping forward. She leans down, pressing a gentle kiss to Lexa’s forehead. Lexa’s eyes close at her touch.

“I’ll have Gustus swing by your apartment some time during the night. Stay safe, okay?”

“Remember your promise.” Lexa whispers, looking up at Anya. Anya’s smile fades and she sighs before standing straight. 

“I will.” She’s about to leave, but Lexa grabs her hand and stands before hugging Anya tightly. She buries her head into the older woman’s shoulder, her vision obscured by light blonde hair.

_Please don’t let her die tonight._

“Don’t die. I can’t lose you, too.” Lexa says gruffly, trying her best to stop tears from falling. Tears are weakness. She is not weak. She feels Anya relax and hug her back just as tightly, and the tears fall before she can stop them.

“I won’t.” 

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The pond eventually expands into a sidewalk and a bench with trees surrounding it. Clarke stares at it for a while, contemplating whether or not to draw leaves on the ground falling from the tree, because autumn has always been her favorite season, and it’s by far her favorite thing to draw. The mixture of orange and green and brown always results in something spectacular in her eyes. She reaches for her orange colored pencil when her phone rings loudly. She extends her hand instead to grab her phone.

“Hello?” 

“How was the lecture?” Clarke pauses for a moment, trying to process who’s on the other end of the line and finds herself shaking her head, pondering when exactly Raven Reyes decided to become so lazy. 

“I’m still on campus last I checked, Raven. Why are you calling me?”

“Because I can’t be bothered to walk down two flights of stairs to your dorm. How was the lecture?” She repeats. Clarke rolls her eyes.

“It wasn’t really much of one. What are you up to?”

“Finn’s playing some stupid computer game and yelling at it because he’s losing, and I’m just waiting for you. You coming?” Clarke looks down at her drawing and decides she’ll work on it later on tonight to keep her mind off what’s happening outside. It’s better than shoving earphones into her ears and blasting music so loud, she can’t even hear her own breathing. Sure, she prefers being alone, but Raven is always great company. It’s why they’re best friends.

“Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute.” 

“See you!” She presses the end call button and jumps up from her bed, abandoning her drawing on it. She looks down at her ripped jeans and simple dark blue t-shirt and decides that Raven might be her best friend, but she really cannot be bothered to dress up for her. She instead grabs her black jacket and puts it on before walking out of her room. 

She isn’t exactly sure how her and Raven even became friends. She’s pretty sure it probably began with their orientation day at the University, when a guy had wolf whistled at Clarke and made a particularly rude comment about what he’d like to do to her. Raven had heard him, walked over to him and punched him straight in the face. The guy had fallen, nose bleeding, and Raven had walked over to her with a grin and her hand held out. She’d kind of stuck to Clarke like glue since then and Clarke found herself not wanting Raven’s company to end. So here they are two years later, still good friends despite their friendship beginning with a fight. Finn had come into the picture a few months into their friendship, a transfer from another university and Raven had looked him up and down and immediately stated that she hated everything about him, from his scrubby, long brown hair to his torn shoes.

Two months later, they started dating.

When it comes to Finn Collins, Clarke doesn’t hate him, but she doesn’t exactly love him, either. He’s incredibly childish and half the things he does irritates her, but he treats Raven like an absolute princess, and Raven’s always happy around him, so Clarke tolerates him. Raven is easily the most important person to her and she’ll do anything for her best friend, even put up with her annoying, childish boyfriend.

“Clarke!” She stops at the sound of her name and turns to see a figure in shadow half jog-half speed walk down the hallway toward her. Clarke narrows her eyes to try and see who it is and sighs.

_I need to invest in glasses._

As soon as he’s close enough, Clarke sees it’s Bellamy Blake, her Alpha Station partner, his dark hair a mess and his brown eyes filled with worry.

“Have you seen Octavia?” He asks as soon as he reaches her, his voice dropping down to almost a whisper as he looks around anxiously. Clarke looks at him with narrowed eyes.

“No, but I’ve kind of been in the Dean’s office all day, so…” Bellamy’s expression of worry turns to confusion.

“Why were you in the Dean’s office all day?” He asks. Clarke rolls her eyes, wanting nothing more than to just ignore everything at this point, abandon Raven and go back to her dorm so people will leave her alone. 

“Finn was being Finn and got him, Raven and me in trouble. We’re on maintenance duty for the rest of the year…and we can’t leave the campus on the weekends anymore.” Bellamy whistles, wincing in sympathy and Clarke sighs.

“It doesn’t matter. You can’t find Octavia?” Bellamy’s worried expression returns in the blink of an eye and he nods once.

“She and I got into an argument yesterday. I told her that she needed to stop skipping school in order to sneak off campus and go see that boyfriend of hers in the City. She told me I needed to mind my own business and I told her I was her older brother and she had to listen to me and…well, you know how she gets. ‘Don’t tell me what to do!’” Bellamy raises his voice to imitate his younger sister and Clarke has to admit, she’s surprised at how accurate his imitation is. Bellamy runs a hand through his hair in frustration.

“I think she ran off to go see him because I’ve been looking all over campus for her and she’s not answering her phone. I know she’s probably going to do something stupid to piss me off, like stay out after curfew, except tonight-”

“Is kind of one of the worst nights to do that, right. Crap.” Clarke says, running a hand through her hair. 

Bellamy’s younger sister, Octavia, is known for disobeying orders and generally rebelling against any kind of authority figure. Bellamy and Octavia are kind of the wildcard entries to the university. All anybody really knows about them is that both their parents are dead and Bellamy’s been Octavia’s guardian since he was 16. Both of them have a reputation of being trouble makers, but Octavia’s the one always getting caught in trouble, and every single time, she shrugs it off without a care. Clarke suspects it has something to do with Octavia’s hatred for practically anyone who HAS authority over her and Clarke has to admire her attempts at rebellion, but tonight is probably not the best night to try and push the limits…

“Crap is right.” Bellamy sighs.

“Well she has to know tonight’s the Purge.” Clarke says, looking at him. He grimaces.

“She probably thinks her boyfriend can protect her. He’s part of some gang or something, I don’t know the details, and she’s barely told me anything about him. All she said was he’s a part of some rebel group and his name is Lincoln. I told her I don’t approve, but it’s not like she cares. Every time I tell her that, she gives me the finger and avoids me for days.” Bellamy runs a hand through his hair in frustration again and Clarke puts a hand on his shoulder to calm him.

She’s not going to risk her life just to piss you off, Bellamy.” Clarke reassures him. Bellamy looks at her and raises an eyebrow and Clarke bites her lip with hesitation. 

She doesn’t know Octavia well, but again, she’s known for being a troublemaker, and for constantly fighting with Bellamy over every little thing. Clarke remembers the one time her and Raven had been in the cafeteria and Bellamy had made some kind of comment that set Octavia off, and she ended up throwing her tray of food at him and walking out of the cafeteria without a backward glance at her older brother, who was glaring at her with lettuce and tomato sauce dripping down his face.

“But as a precaution, we should probably go look for her.” Clarke adds. Bellamy begins to make his way back down the hallway before suddenly stopping and turning to look at her.

“Wait…you’re already in trouble, should we really be heading out of the Campus grounds on the night of the Purge?” Clarke looks at him in hesitation and lets out a breath. He’s right, she’s already in massive amounts of trouble, and the idea of going out into the City during the Purge makes her whole stomach turn in on itself. 

This is what got him killed. This is why her father isn’t here anymore. Because he made a choice, a reckless and stupid choice and he’s dead now because of it…but if Octavia is in trouble, there’s no way she’s letting Bellamy go out there alone to look for her. She considers Bellamy a friend even if the only time they really spend together is during their time at the Alpha Station. Her father always taught her one thing…stay loyal to those you care about, no matter what…

“Probably not, but, we’re going to do it anyway, aren’t we?” Bellamy’s look of worry turns into a smirk as he nods once and leads the way, Clarke following him despite her heart, which is beating at a million miles an hour, telling her not to. She follows him all the way across the courtyard, ignoring the other students who are out enjoying the sunshine that’s so rare during these winter months. Every part of her tells her to turn back, but her legs keep pushing her forward. They’re almost at Bellamy’s car in the car park when he suddenly stops and turns to look at her, hesitation written all over his face.

“Look Clarke, you don’t have to come with me…” She knows that Bellamy doesn’t have a care in the world for leaving the campus grounds on the night of the Purge. Bellamy’s always the one doing things he shouldn’t and getting away with it. But she’s glad that he’s not dragging her along with him forcefully, and she shakes her head once.

“Bellamy, you’re my friend. I want to help.” He smiles slightly but sighs, shaking his head.

“But you’re already in trouble-”

“Then we’ll just have to make sure we find Octavia and get back here before sundown, don’t we?” Clarke says breathlessly. Bellamy watches her carefully before nodding once and reaching into his pocket for his keys.

“I promise we’ll get here before sundown.” Clarke nods once numbly and looks down at her watch. Almost 2. The Purge begins at exactly 7. The gates to the university close at 6. 

“No pressure.” She mutters under her breath. 

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

She’s counted almost fourteen different shapes on the ceiling of her apartment before she sighs, throwing the blankets on her bed off herself.

Her apartment is not safe and she knows it. She has neighbors above her who are arguing constantly, and the guy who lives in the apartment next door is constantly undressing her with his eyes every time she leaves and enters the building. She has no problem defending herself, but killing people isn’t exactly something she enjoys doing, and she’d prefer to avoid it if she can. So staying here tonight certainly isn’t an option. But, then again she has nowhere else to go. She knows Indra will be busy looking after the other people who seek a safe haven, and she’s not about to impede on other people’s safety. At least she knows the ins and outs of this apartment. And she not only has a weapon, she sure as hell can defend herself. She’ll be safe here as long as she makes it safe.

“Barricade the door with the couch…lock it, double lock it…” She whispers to herself. She sighs and reaches for her phone to glance at the time.

Almost 2. She can get to the gym at 3, stay there till at least 5:30. She needs to work out, needs to get her body loose for tonight, despite how sore and bruised it already is from her training session last night. She wishes she could go later and stay longer, but it’s the Purge.

Every single business is closed before 7PM. 

She rubs her eyes tiredly and sits up before unlocking her phone and scrolling through her contacts. As soon as she sees Lincoln’s name, she presses the green icon beside it. The phone rings for a long time before he finally answers.

“Lexa, everything okay?” He sounds out of breath, and Lexa smiles slightly.

“Yeah. Are you?” He laughs.

“Yeah, fine, I’m just uh…busy. What’s up?” Lexa frowns.

“Doing something for Anya?” She asks. 

“No, but she told me what’s going down tonight. You joining us?” Lexa grits her teeth, willing herself not to get upset at the fact that Anya has decided to keep her out of this despite the fact that she can help.

“I can’t. Anya refuses to let me and what she says, goes. That’s not why I’m calling. I’m coming in to train. You ready for me?” He pauses for a moment.

“Right now? You sure? You took a beating last night.”

“Yeah, and I’m not about to let you get away with it. Besides, I need to let my frustration at this whole situation out somehow.” 

“Got it, got it. Uh…give me half an hour?” 

“Yeah, no problem.”

“See you then.” She ends the call and takes a deep breath in, rubbing her forehead anxiously. 

She’s never done this before. Survived on her own during the Purge. Well, she did after her parents were killed, for more than three years, but she was young. It was easy to slip through the cracks when you were less than 4 and a half feet tall and skinny enough to fit through even the tightest spaces due to malnutrition. No one could reach her. And then Anya had saved her and she’d begun seeking refuge with her before eventually joining her cause. After that it had always been her and Anya. And even when Anya was out fighting the good fight, she was never really alone, always someone by her side…

Her heart pounds painfully as she remembers the softest, kindest chocolate brown eyes crinkled in laughter-

_Don’t think about that._

Lexa shakes her head and runs her hand through her hair, willing the tears in her eyes away. She’s gone…her parents are gone…and now, Anya is off fighting a war with a high chance of death and Lexa can’t help her because she refuses to let her. She has no one.

You’re a survivor.

“You can do this.” She whispers to herself. She’s not going to die tonight. As long as she keeps repeating that to herself, she’ll make it through.

_I am not going to die tonight._

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It isn’t long before panic begins to settle in.

Bellamy turns a corner sharply and Clarke has to hold on for dear life to the car door to stop herself from smacking into the window. She takes a deep breath in and looks at him to see his eyes are wide and frantic, panic beginning to course through him completely and utterly, driving him mad.

“We’ll find her, Bellamy.” She says, trying to calm not only him, but herself, down.

“It’s almost six, Clarke, and there’s no sign of her!” Bellamy barks. They’ve been searching for hours and hours, stopping at stores and alleyways to shout Octavia’s name only for silence to meet them. The sun’s beginning to set and Clarke’s beginning to wonder whether Octavia Blake even exists, because they have searched every single nook and cranny of this City and there’s no sign of her. They'd even tried calling her from Bellamy's phone multiple times to no avail. Clarke watches the sun sink lower and her heart seems to skip a few beats before picking up speed again.

“Bellamy, we-”

“I know!” She can see the panic in Bellamy’s eyes and to be quite honest, she’s beginning to panic herself. The sun is almost down and she knows the gates to the University are about to close, but Bellamy looks like he has no plans to stop searching for Octavia any time soon. He looks at Clarke desperately for a few moments before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. He shoves it into her hand and she looks at it in confusion.

“Try and call her phone with yours. Maybe she’ll answer you. If she doesn’t, I promise I’ll take you back to campus.”

“What are you going to do?” She asks desperately. Clarke already knows the answer and Bellamy seems to know that she knows because he smiles sadly. Clarke lifts herself up from her seat slightly to reach into her pocket, begging to every god she knows that Octavia answers her phone. As soon as the screen of her phone lights up, she sees over 7 missed calls from Raven. She had been ignoring them on purpose, not wanting to inform her best friend of what she was up to, but now she was regretting it slightly. What if she didn't make it back in time?

She searches for Octavia’s number with shaking fingers on Bellamy’s phone and smashes Octavia’s number into her own phone as quickly as she can. When she finds it, she half groans, pressing the green button.

Octavia answers on the first ring.

“Hello?” She sing songs. Clarke’s entire body seems to collapse and she gasps in as much air as she can, a chuckle of relief escaping her. They’re going to be okay.

“Octavia! It’s me, Clarke!” 

“Oh hi! I just ran into Finn and Raven, they’re looking for you! They also told me you guys got in a heap of shit for breaking some stuff in the Factory Station, haha! Nice work!” Clarke’s body freezes. Finn and Raven? But that means…

“Octavia-”

“Hey, have you seen Bellamy? I’ve been looking everywhere for him.” Clarke feels her heart drop somewhere below her stomach before bile rises in the back of her throat.

“I’m with Bellamy right now, we’re in the City looking for you.” She says hollowly. It’s silent for a few moments, nothing but the sound of tires screeching on the road, nothing but the feel of sweat building at the back of her neck from the stress and the panic, before-

“WHAT? I’M AT THE CAMPUS, WHAT THE HELL IS BELLAMY DOING? DOES HE KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS? YOU NEED TO GET BACK HERE, THEY’RE GOING TO CLOSE THE GATES!” Clarke almost drops the phone and she can feel her entire body almost float away as if she’s died and her spirit has left the shell of her body completely, abandoning its home…

“She’s at the University.” She says quietly, looking up at Bellamy’s face to see it quickly lose all color within seconds. 

“What?” He says hoarsely.

“GET TO THE UNIVERSITY, NOW!” Clarke shouts, her voice box protesting painfully from the stretch. Bellamy slams his foot on the brake and spins the wheel around sharply, the tires screeching in protest as he slams his foot onto the accelerator. A car toots his horn at him and he drives around it and Clarke’s thankful the streets are practically empty, everyone avoiding the open space due to the fact that in a little over one hour, the streets will be covered in blood and screams echoing throughout the sky. They lurch forward and Clarke, who still has the phone to her ear, hears Octavia curse so loudly, Clarke moves the phone away from her ear in pain.

“IS HE CRAZY?”

“We’ve been looking for you, he thought you left campus-”

“I DID BUT I CAME BACK ALMOST AN HOUR AGO. DOES HE SERIOUSLY THINK I WOULD STAY OUT PAST CURFEW ON THE NIGHT OF THE PURGE? DOES HE THINK I’M THAT STUPID?” Clarke looks at Bellamy, who clearly heard what was just said because he bites his lip with guilt. Clarke closes her eyes, taking a deep breath in and wiping the sweat from her brow, trying not to panic.

“Look, we’re coming now, okay?”

“DAMN IT. Okay, look, I’m going to try and get them to keep the gate open a little longer for you two, alright? Get here safe!” Clarke knows Octavia definitely won’t succeed in trying that, but she nods anyway.

“I prom-” She hears a horn and tires screeching before she feels the impact and then there’s nothing but darkness.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The static wakes her. 

It’s about five seconds long, drawn out and loud, but it startles her to consciousness slightly, her vision more blurry than anything she’s ever experienced before a voice suddenly seems to echo everywhere around her. Clarke feels herself sway in and out of consciousness again as the disembodied voice also fades in and out, like a radio being tuned.

_“This is not a test. This is your emergency broadcast system announcing the commencement of the Annual Purge sanctioned by the U.S. Government. Weapons of class 4 and lower have been authorized for use during the Purge. All other weapons are restricted. Government officials of ranking 10 have been granted immunity from the Purge and shall not be harmed. Commencing at the siren, any and all crime, including murder, will be legal for 12 continuous hours. Police, fire, and emergency medical services will be unavailable until tomorrow morning at 7 a.m., when The Purge concludes. Blessed be our New Founding Fathers and America, a nation reborn. May God be with you all.”_

The sirens begin, and Clarke finds herself fully conscious at the sound of them, fear and terror gripping her at the very sound of those sirens. They’re long and loud, almost deafening, and Clarke’s been hearing them once every year for the last eighteen years, but they’ve never brought her any fear. Anger, yes, guilt, yes, depression, definitely. But not fear. Not terror like this. They’ve just signaled the beginning of a horrible night in, stuck inside the Campus thinking about her father and how he would be alive today if this night did not exist. But she’s never had any reason to be afraid. The walls of the school have kept her safe.

Until now.

“Ugh.” Her head is pounding and her vision is blurred, but the world is no longer spinning, which she takes as a good sign. The terror flooding through her is making her body aware, and she blinks a few times, trying to get her bearings when the pain suddenly hits her like a tidal wave. She shouts before biting her lip so hard, she draws blood. The pain in her lip does nothing to draw the pain away from her leg and she licks her lips, immediately despising the metallic taste.

She looks down to see that her leg is stuck in the passenger door, which has dented in so hard that the metal has twisted and torn through her leg. The sight of it alone makes Clarke almost pass out again, but she swallows the lump in her throat (and the bile) and reaches for her leg with shaking hands. She tries to move it and a wave of pain instantly zaps up her leg and through her whole body.

“OW! OW! FUCK!” Tears instantly flood her eyes and she sits back and blinks for a few moments, feeling blood drip from a cut somewhere on her forehead down her cheek. The cut is stinging from the sweat that’s building on her forehead as well. It takes her a second to remember what’s going on. She’s not made it back to the university. She’s stuck outside for the rest of the night in the middle of what is basically a warzone for the next twelve hours. And she wasn’t alone out here. 

“Bellamy?” She turns frantically, looking for any sign of his dark, messy mop of hair, but he’s nowhere to be seen. His face flashes before her eyes and she suddenly remembers hearing shouting, and blurred figures as the door to the driver’s side was ripped open and someone was pulled away from her, her mind slipping in and out of consciousness…

_No, no, no…_

Her heart is racing so fast now, her chest is beginning to hurt and she winces, looking around the car again.

“BELLAMY?” She screams. Even if he was here, the sirens are so loud, she doubts he could hear her, anyway. She looks toward the side and notices the door to the driver’s side is wide open-

And there’s blood on the door.

“Damn it!” She can’t stay here. She needs to move. She needs to find him. She looks down at her legs again and notices her left one is shaking, the right one completely still as blood trickles from where the metal is embedded into it. It hasn’t gone all the way through, which she takes as a good sign. She can take it out easier without the added pain of getting it out of both ends of her leg. She rests her hands just above where the metal has gone through her thigh and takes a deep breath in.

_NOW!_

She pulls, and pain unlike anything she’s ever felt rips through her body like fire, but she doesn’t stop. She screams through it, her voice-box immediately protesting at the strain. The sirens stop and she takes her hands away from her leg and puts them over her mouth to silence herself, blood instantly staining her face.

It’s quiet. Too quiet. She can’t scream now…someone will hear her.

“Okay! Okay!” She whispers to herself, taking a few deep breaths in. She bites down on her lip, causing fresh blood to ooze from her the cut she’d caused from biting down on it before and rests her shaking hands above the wound again. She pulls once again and the pain is unbearable, and she moans but she knows she needs to get out. It moves another inch when she hears it. It sounds far away, but she can tell it’s screams for mercy, mixed with laughter and the sound of gunshots. She covers her ears, blinking back tears and trying her best to stop her hands, and her whole body really, from shaking.

She is not following in her father’s footsteps. She is not dying tonight.

“Come on, Clarke! COME ON!” She growls under her breath. She grabs her leg and pulls once more and finally, her leg pushes through and breaks free from the tangled metal. She can feel blood pouring from the wound almost instantly, and she immediately remembers everything her mother taught her and thanks all the gods she knows that her mother is a doctor.

_“Now if you’re ever bleeding heavily from a wound, you have to put pressure on it to stop it from bleeding. Best thing to do is get a long strip of cloth and tie it just above or over the wound.”_

She quickly takes off her jacket and grabs the bottom of her t-shirt, tearing it and ripping off a part of the bottom section. She wraps it over the wound and pulls the two ends tighter. It hurts like hell and blood immediately covers the strip, but it eventually turns into a dull throbbing ache. Clarke breathes in a few more times before crawling over the passenger side to the driver’s side and climbing out of the car. 

Bellamy is nowhere to be seen. She looks everywhere for him, but the streets are empty, except for the car that smashed into them. The car’s front is completely ruined beyond repair, and Clarke realizes that it collided with the back right side of Bellamy’s car. If it had been a few inches more inches to the right, she would be dead right now. The car is empty as well, and Clarke knows she can’t stay here. The streets are empty now, but they’ll soon be flooded with people, victims and participants. 

“Find a place to hide. Find a place to hide.” She whispers under her breath. She steps on her injured leg and it throbs painfully but is manageable, which Clarke realizes is because of the adrenaline currently pumping throughout her body. It’s preventing her from feeling all of the pain.

She should probably take advantage of that while she can. She grabs her jacket from inside the car and puts it back on before looking around. There’s an alleyway to the left of her. She makes her way toward it, all the while keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of Bellamy, as well as anyone else. Her heart feels like it’s about to pound straight out of her chest and she knows that if she can, she needs to get her hands on a weapon. She knows that even though she’s the one of the University Professor’s daughter, the University will not open the gates for her. She’s stuck out here for the rest of the night.

“Find a place to hide.” She mutters again, trying to convince herself not to panic. She turns into the next alleyway, desperate to find anywhere she can hide for a few moments to try and think of a plan.

Of course, that doesn’t happen. She rounds the corner when something slams into her and the world spins as she falls on her injured leg. The pain is immediate and she yells out before she feels a heavy weight on top of her, pinning her to the ground. She screams for help as loudly as she can before she feels her windpipe being crushed by meaty fingers. She opens her eyes to see a man grinning widely above her, drool falling from his mouth and onto her face as he laughs with complete euphoria. He’s choking the life out of her and he’s happy about it. 

She can’t get an ounce of air in her lungs and all she feels is fear. Nothing but fear and adrenaline pumping through her and perhaps a bit of anger that she hasn’t even lasted ten minutes into this night and she’s already dead. The man’s nails cut into her throat and her heart pounds painfully against her chest as she wonders when Bellamy will find her dead body.

_Bellamy…_

She immediately attempts to fight and strikes the guy over his head with her fist, but he barely flinches. Instead, his grip grows tighter. The corners of her eyes are starting to blacken and she can feel herself losing feeling in her hands that are fighting back against this stranger desperately, and she realizes the last thing she’s ever going to see is this man hovering over her, a gigantic grin on his face as he takes her life.

She closes her eyes, thinking of Raven and her mother before there’s a loud bang like a firework and she feels something hot spray on her face. It doesn’t hit her that it’s blood until she opens her eyes and sees the bullet wound in this guy’s head, his eyes wide in shock and the last echo of a smile on his face right before he collapses on top of her. 

As soon as his fingers are off her throat, she sucks in a breath of air and it whistles down her throat so fast, she coughs. She gasps in more air only to cough once more and once she starts, she can’t stop. She’s coughing for almost a full minute, all the while trying to breath in as much air as she can. One thought seems to process through her mind.

She’s alive. Her throat feels like it’s on fire and her chest is sore, but she’s alive. She’s alive and he’s dead. Someone saved her.

She pushes the dead man off her and he rolls to the side. She slowly looks down to see a young girl who looks about her age standing there with a gun in her hand, her eyes on the dead man. She has light brown hair that’s braided into a ponytail behind her back. She’s wearing simple jeans and a black tank top that’s covered in a dark denim jacket, and her eyes are a deep mixture of so many different green colors, Clarke finds herself staring at them in awe before she realizes they’re wide open in shock, her eyes on the dead man beside Clarke. 

“Are you okay?” The girl asks. Clarke sits up slowly with her hands raised, her heart racing even though she’s already trying to think of a way to convince this girl not to kill her. The girl seems to realize this and lowers the gun.

“I’m not going to hurt you.” She holds out her other hand that is not holding the gun and Clarke hesitates before extending her hand and taking it. The girl’s hands are soft and gentle as she helps Clarke up. Clarke hisses at the pain in her leg and as soon as she’s standing straight, she balances off it. She cups her throat and it throbs painfully. The girl tucks the gun into her belt and glances around before looking at Clarke. Clarke meets her gaze.

“I…how did you know…” The pain in her throat intensified as she tries to talk and she winces. The girl shakes her head and points up at the building behind them.

“I live here. I heard you scream and came down as fast as I could…granted it involved moving a heavy couch away from the front door, that’s why I took so long-” 

“Thank you.” Clarke interrupts her hoarsely, shaking her head. The girl stares at her once more.

“What are you doing out here? You don’t look homeless or poor.” She says, eyeing Clarke up and down. Clarke contemplates lying to her, but figures it’d be a harsh repayment considering this girl saved her life. 

“I-I’m from Jaha University…” She trails off when the girl’s eyes widen and she suddenly grips Clarke’s wrist painfully and drags her away. Clarke’s heart rate picks back up and she tries to get the girl off her.

“Ow, let go!” Clarke can feel her injured leg protesting with each step and the girl’s grip tightens.

“Quiet!” She hisses. The girl lightly shoves her against the wall in a dark corner of the alleyway and Clarke looks at her in anger. 

“What-” The girl silences her by putting a hand over her mouth. 

“Quiet! You don’t want to go around yelling that you’re from the University, you’re the first person they’ll come after!” She hisses. Clarke doesn’t respond for a few moments, simply staring at the girl in shock before slowly nodding, and the girl moves her hand. She curses under her breath in a language Clarke doesn’t understand and runs a hand through her hair.

“What are you doing out here!?” She says, her tone of voice not exactly harsh, but not polite, either. Clarke swallows down the bile rising in her throat from this whole situation and raises her hands.

“Okay, just…just calm down, okay? I-I was out with my friend Bellamy looking for his s-sister, Octavia. We were m-making our way back to campus when a car r-ran into us. I-I blacked out.” Clarke stutters out. The girl narrows her eyes before suddenly reaching for her gun.

“You’re not tricking me are you? How do I know you’re not participating in tonight’s events?” She demands.

“What? Of course not, I’m telling you the truth! It was just an accident, we were supposed to get back to the campus before six, but a car slammed into us!”  
Clarke says angrily. The girl looks at her in suspicion for a few seconds before nodding once and relaxing. Clarke can feel herself starting to calm down a little. 

She doesn’t think this girl is going to kill her. 

“What happened to your friend?” She asks.

“I-I don’t know, he wasn’t there when I woke up. But I remember something…I just don’t know what, I was fading in and out of consciousness for over an hour…” The girl freezes for a moment before looking at Clarke suspiciously. 

“I swear to you, I’m telling the truth.” Clarke repeats. The girl paces up and down, and Clarke bites her lip, wincing as her teeth graze over already open flesh.

“Is there any chance we can get you to the University, to safety?” Clarke shakes her head.

“They won’t let me in no matter what. It’ll breach security. They’d rather I die out here than open those gates during the Purge.” Clarke says, swallowing the lump in her throat painfully. The girl sighs.

“Well I guess we can just stay in my apartment-” Clarke’s about to interrupt her and tell her she’s not going anywhere without Bellamy when there’s a long, drawn out scream and something heavy makes impact on the ground beside them. They both jump in shock and Clarke looks down to see a body on the floor, her body twisted in awkward angles, her eyes wide and staring.

“Oh my god…” Clarke feels bile rise in her throat again and the girl suddenly grabs her hand. She looks at her to see her looking up and Clarke follows her line of sight to see a man’s head hanging out of the window several feet above them, glaring at them.

“Run. Now!” The girl drags her down the alleyway and twists around the corner until they’re on another street that stands as a kind of bridge to another alleyway, which the girl runs toward, her eyes roaming the street for anyone else who’s a threat. Clarke’s heart is racing as they turn left down the alleyway and finally, the girl comes to a stop. 

“What…the hell…was that?” Clarke gasps out, each breath as painful as the next. The girl seems barely out of breath as she straightens up.

“The guy…who lives above me. He’s always getting into arguments with his girlfriend…guess he finally got the opportunity to get away with killing her.” Clarke looks at her in complete shock at how nonchalantly she says this.

“Well then…clearly your apartment…is out of the question.” Clarke breathes out sarcastically, her chest searing with pain from the lack of air she’s gotten in the last ten minutes. The girl sighs but nods.

“I know somewhere else we can go. It’s not far from here, but…I don’t know if it’s safe or not.” Clarke looks at the girl and bites her lip.

“Please, is…is there…any chance that we can look for my friend-” The girl immediately shakes her head.

“Look, if you want to risk your neck and go out there to find him, be my guest. But with an injured leg and no weapon, you aren’t going to survive very long.” 

“Then why are you helping me?” Clarke asks, looking at the girl in desperation. The girl hesitates for a moment, her eyes moving from Clarke’s eyes, to her lips, down to her leg, then back up again.

“Because you’re alive. And your friend…there’s a chance he’s already dead. I won’t risk my life for a CHANCE that your friend is still alive, not without backup. I’m sorry.” Clarke bites her lip before she realizes that this girl is right. Not about Bellamy being dead (because there is NO WAY Bellamy is dead, she refuses to believe it) but about Clarke having no chance of finding Bellamy like this. This girl is offering her help and she’d be an idiot to refuse it. She needs to go with her and get herself patched up…then she can go out and look for Bellamy, with or without this girl’s help.

“Alright. I’ll go with you.” The girl nods once before her eyes go down to Clarke’s leg again.

“Can you walk?” Clarke lies by nodding, even though her leg kind of feels like it’s about to fall off and the girl sighs before reaching for her gun and gripping it tightly. Clarke stops her before she can move.

“Wait. What’s your name?” The girl hesitates and Clarke holds out her hand.

“I’m Clarke.” The girl stares down at her hand before taking it. Clarke is surprised by how gentle she is despite the permanent scowl she has on her face.

“Lexa. My name is Lexa.”


	2. Chapter 2

They don’t run into any trouble and Lexa considers it a miracle even though she’s using the back streets. 

Clarke is surprisingly silent, walking behind her with difficulty due to her leg with barely a word spoken in the ten minutes they take to reach the safe-house, but Lexa can see her jump in shock from the corner of her eye every time she hears a gunshot, or the sound of someone screaming. Lexa’s so used to all of this, it doesn’t faze her. The only thing she’s focused on right now is getting this girl to Anya’s safe-house.

She knows Anya said the safe-house was more than likely not safe, but Lexa can’t think of anywhere else to take her, and Clarke is severely injured. There’s no way she’d make it to Indra’s safe-house, which is at least a half hour away from the City by car. Walking would take them hours. Her leg looks bad and Lexa would rather help save her then leave her to die. After all, that’s what she does every year with Anya’s group: strive to save the helpless on the night where murder is almost completely inescapable.

“We’re almost there.” Lexa says over her shoulder. She sees Clarke nod once and she winces in pain, continuing to walk unbalanced on her injured leg. Lexa sighs and stops in her tracks, doubling back towards Clarke, who waves her off.

“It’s okay. I can do it.” Lexa shakes her head.

“No you can’t. Please…let me help you.” Clarke sighs before nodding once and putting her arm over Lexa’s neck. Lexa wraps an around arm her waist and Clarke groans as Lexa lifts her as easily as if she weighs nothing, carrying her along with ease to keep the weight off her injured leg. Clarke stares at her in shock for a few moments before simply going along with it. She's never felt quite this useless before, but the way Lexa's carrying her so easily makes her feel a little less than what she already feels like.

They round the corner of the alleyway they’re in and Lexa sees the headlights before they reach her. Her heart drops instantly, but it’s almost a reflex as, without hesitation, she shoves Clarke back behind the wall of the alleyway. Clarke's body smacks against the bricks and she looks at Lexa angrily.

“Ow! What-”

“Shh!” Clarke immediately closes her mouth and Lexa peers around the corner, her heart pounding in her ears as she sees a large truck slowly driving down the street, the screeching sound of the brakes echoing through the night. She hears Clarke gasp as the truck drives past the wall they’re hiding behind and they both duck down, Clarke wincing at the pain in her leg and subconsciously, she reaches for Lexa’s hand. Lexa, however, grips it tightly, needing something to stop herself from screaming in terror.

“Who is it?” Clarke whispers. Lexa shakes her head and stays low, breathing so heavily, it comes out in a mist as it makes contact with the cold air. She wants to tell Clarke that it's no one good, that it's more than likely someone who will kill them without hesitation, but she can't bring herself to do it. She's too scared to make any noise at all. She sees a guy hanging out of the truck’s window as it slowly comes into view, sitting on the ledge of the door with something that looks like a phone held up to his mouth. 

“Yeah, Cage. We got them. Killed everyone inside. No sign of Anya, though.” Lexa doesn’t hear the response, but she can’t help but sigh in the brief moment of relief she feels. Anya is safe.

Everyone else is dead.

“No…” She can’t think of anything else to say. She doesn’t know who was inside, but they were people she knew, people she fought with…people she loved.

She can feel tears threatening to spill from her eyes, anguish and grief immediately flooding her and she can tell Clarke is confused, but her grip on Lexa’s hand is so tight, Lexa knows she knows they’re in danger. The truck screeches before it speeds off down the street and rounds the corner, the sounds of everyone inside it cheering and crowing at their victory and Lexa is still for a few moments, unsure of what to do, a mix of relief and despair swirling inside her.

“Lexa?” Clarke whispers. She blinks the tears out of her eyes and looks back at the young blonde to see her sea blue eyes wide with complete and utter fear. Lexa looks down and closes her eyes before nodding to herself and standing.

_Help her first._

Clarke follows suite, wincing slightly as she puts pressure on her injured leg and Lexa looks at her.

“The safe-house…it’s right there, but I don’t think it’s safe. I think those people that were in the truck killed everyone inside.” Clarke’s eyes widen before she fumbles slightly and lets out a deep breath, tears swimming in her eyes before she bites her lip and nods.

“We need to make sure…we-we need…”

“I know. Stick to me, okay?” Lexa whispers. Clarke nods once more and Lexa grips her gun tightly. She doesn’t know why, but there’s nothing but relief flooding through her in this one moment. Relief that she’s not alone in this. Relief that Clarke is by her side. She knows nothing about this girl beside her, but in this moment, where she’s lost what feels like maybe everything, she’s glad to have someone’s hand to hold. She knows this must be a lot for Clarke, too, to go from being safe behind the university’s walls every year on this night to suddenly being thrown into the chaos and destruction without any warning…she must be freaking out just as much as Lexa is in this moment.

_I’ve got to get her through this night alive._

Her heart racing, she slowly leads Clarke down the street toward the safe-house. The street is quiet, and Lexa feels almost every hair on her skin go on end. As soon as they reach the safe-house, Lexa comes to a stop.

One person is dead at the door, his body slumped against it.

Clarke throws up behind her, the sound of it hitting the concrete echoing behind her and Lexa closes her eyes, trying her best not to do the same. She sways slightly before taking two deep breaths in.

_Stay strong._

She walks slowly, the grip she has on her gun tightening every second as she climbs the steps and tries not to look at the body at her feet. She recognizes him as a new recruit of Anya’s, and it makes her heart clench. Dead before he could even make a difference. Dead before he could even begin to fight for what he believed in.

_Stay strong._

She kicks the door open wider and slowly enters the house. Four bodies are covering the stairs. Two of them belong to survivors, because their faces are not familiar to her. The other two are part of Anya’s crew, Sienne and Emori. Her heart pounds in her chest and she blinks back tears. She steps to the left to glance into the living room and immediately pulls back at the sight of over a dozen more bodies.

“No, no, no…” She moves back into the hallway, not wanting to go through to the right toward the kitchen. Not wanting to see more casualties, more deaths…  
All innocent people…

She hears a creak behind her and spins around, gun raised to see Clarke jump in shock.

“It’s me!” She shouts. Lexa glares at her, her heart pounding in her ears, but Clarke is too busy staring at all the bodies on the ground in shock to notice Lexa. She covers her mouth and her body heaves.

“Oh god…”

Lexa presses a finger to her lips before pointing up the stairs. Clarke, still with a hand over her mouth, nods once. Lexa makes her way up the stairs, desperately trying her best not to step on any of the bodies. As soon as she reaches the top, she turns to the right to find two more bodies in the small living room to the corner that consists of two couches and a lamp. This is where she usually spends the night, curled up on the couch and trying her best to ignore everything, the sound of screams and death lingering in the air around her…

She walks toward it slowly. There are four bedrooms up here and she’s too scared to check them. Too scared to see the bodies of more of the people she knows.

“What happened here?” Clarke whispers. Lexa turns to see her at the top of the stairs, her face stark white. Before Lexa can answer, something grabs her foot and she screams and points the gun down to find the body closest to the couch is still moving.

And it hits her who it is when she sees the brown hair and blonde highlights beneath all the blood matted into it.

“Echo!” She drops down to her knees, the gun falling to her side as she reaches out with shaking hands to roll Echo over as gently as possible. 

_Not Echo…_

Echo’s face is covered in blood and one of her eyes is swollen shut, the other wide and so dilated, you can barely see the ocean blue color. She has a gunshot wound to her chest and Lexa knows it’s pierced her lung by the way she’s breathing. 

“Echo…” She has no idea what to do, no idea how to help. She’s frozen, completely and utterly helpless. She hears footsteps behind her and suddenly, Clarke is bending down beside her. She winces at the pain in her leg and sits down on the ground completely, laying her injured leg flat above Echo’s head. She takes in Echo’s injuries before suddenly grabbing the blanket that’s resting on the floor beside her and pressing it down on Echo’s chest.

“What are you doing?” Lexa growls, trying to move Clarke’s hands away in anger but Clarke looks up at her.

“I’m trying to save her life! Keep pressure on the wound!” Clarke says, motioning for Lexa to place her hands on the blanket. Lexa does as she’s told and Clarke looks at Echo, but Echo’s hand suddenly moves up to grip Lexa’s shoulder.

“Anya…Anya went to am…ambush him, but…Cage…he knew…came here…instead…” She chokes out, taking dragging, agonizing breaths between almost every word. Lexa’s heart squeezes and she grips Echo’s hand tightly.

“Shh, it’s okay.” Lexa whispers.

“Try not to talk.” Clarke tells Echo, placing her hands over Lexa’s and pushing down gently on the wound.

“Can we help her?” Lexa asks Clarke desperately, wanting, no…needing her guidance to help save Echo’s life. But Clarke bites her lip, and Lexa knows she can’t do anything.

“I…I don’t have enough experience, I don’t know what to do other than try to get it to stop bleeding.” Clarke says, shaking her head. Echo lets go of Lexa’s shoulder and reaches into her pocket with shaking hands to pulls out her phone. 

“Call…Anya.” Lexa nods once because she has no idea what to say, tears falling before she can stop them as Echo shakes her head slightly.

“It’s okay. I’m…glad you’re…safe…” She breathes. Lexa continues to attempt to stop the bleeding, desperate to do something, anything, to save Echo’s life when Echo grabs both hers and Clarke’s wrists.

“Doesn’t…hurt…” She breathes. Lexa shakes her head.

“I’m sorry…” She whispers, and that familiar feeling of grief is beginning to nuzzle its way into her body, wanting to make her crawl into a ball and escape everything…how long can she keep doing this? Losing the people she cares about…

“We can help.” Clarke says, but Echo coughs and blood seems to pool at the corner of her mouth. Lexa clenches her jaw, and Echo wheezes before looking at her.

“Stop. Get…Anya…that’s your…job now…” Lexa nods once, determined to prove to Echo in her final moments that she wasn’t weak and Echo smiles before glancing down at the ground where Lexa dropped her gun. To her surprise, Echo smiles.

“My gun…it’s yours. You…look after it…you hear?” She rattles. 

“Echo…” Lexa barely finishes saying her name before Echo lets out a long breath, her eyes leaving Lexa’s as her whole body goes still.

“No…” Clarke whispers. 

Lexa’s still for a few moments before she removes her hands slowly and Clarke does the same. Lexa wraps her hand under Echo’s neck and lifts her up, cradling Echo close to her body for a few moments, trying her best not to allow the flood of memories of her and Echo to cripple her. She remembers them huddling together in the cold, Echo always grabbing a second blanket and wrapping it around her. She remembers Echo teasing her about how she was four years older than her, and was the boss of her, which would always make Lexa cry because she didn’t want anyone to ever be the boss of her. She remembers Echo teaching her how to shoot a gun when she was only 10, and Anya berating her before joining in, all of them trying to outdo each other by shooting cans off the ledge of a window. Anya had won of course, but Echo had held back, wanting Lexa to feel good about herself by allowing her to shoot down more cans than her.

And now Echo is dead…gone.

“Lexa…” The sound of Clarke’s voice brings her out of her thoughts and she moves Echo away from her, laying her back down on the ground as gently as she can, even though she knows Echo can’t feel it anymore. Echo’s eye that isn’t swollen is wide open and Lexa brushes her fingers against it, closing it slowly. She leans forward, pressing a kiss to Echo’s forehead, her heart aching. Echo can’t feel it, Echo can’t feel anything, Echo is dead…

“Yu gonplei ste odon.” She whispers. She knows that this is what Anya is supposed to do, because she’s the leader of their group, but Anya isn’t here, and she can’t help herself. She needs to give Echo a proper send off. She needs to let her know her sacrifice is acknowledged. That somehow, someday, her life and everyone else who has died for this will get the justice they sought when they were alive. 

She reaches for Echo’s hands and takes the phone before laying them across Echo’s chest. She stands and grips the phone tightly with shaking fingers, calling Anya’s number quickly. She answers on the first ring.

“Echo-”

“You need to get to the safe-house. Now.” Lexa says quietly, anger and despair making the whole phone shake in her hand.

“Lexa? What are you doing there? I told you-”

“They’re dead, Anya. Everyone.” It’s silent for a few moments, and Lexa can tell Anya is in shock by the way she’s breathing heavily into the phone.

“What?”

“Cage knew, alright!? He knew you were coming for him so he targeted you first! Everyone here is dead, Anya, so you need to get here right now!” She isn’t sure why she’s yelling, and in fact, tonight of all nights, she should be quiet, but she’s shaking so badly and her voice seems to have a mind of its own.

Echo is dead…

“I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” Anya says through gritted teeth, and then the line goes dead. Lexa lets the phone drop to the ground and is still for a few moments before she turns to look at Clarke, who is looking at Echo sadly before meeting Lexa’s gaze in shock.

“What happened here?” She whispers. Lexa doesn’t reply, knowing she shouldn’t be upset with Clarke for not knowing what happens outside the walls of her University, but she can’t help herself.

“You should never have come here…” She says instead. Clarke looks at her in confusion and Lexa shakes her head.

“You should’ve stayed at the University.” Clarke blinks rapidly before shaking her head.

“We came out to find our friend-”

“You should’ve left her to die.” Lexa says harshly. She immediately regrets it as Clarke looks at her as if she’s just been slapped. Lexa can’t bear to look at her, so she stands, running a shaking hand through her hair and taking deep breathes in. She hears Clarke grunt and when she turns, Clarke is standing and staring at her in anger.

“Yeah, I probably should have. But I didn’t! Because I’m loyal to my friends, and I’ll do whatever it takes to protect them!” She hisses. Lexa turns away from her and shakes her head, the tears falling down her face before she can stop them. She doesn’t care what Clarke has to say, all that she can think about is the fact that Echo is dead. 10 years of friendship and love and support gone in the blink of an eye. When does this fucking end?

“Look, I’ve never, EVER, agreed with any of this! Do you think I support this crap!? I’m not ignorant of what goes on out here! I know how you struggle, I know-”

“You don’t know anything!” Lexa screams, anger suddenly boiling through her. Clarke jumps in surprise at her anger, and Lexa grits her teeth before stepping forward.

“This is the Purge, Clarke! It’s either kill or be killed! So yeah, maybe you don’t support ‘this crap’ but ‘this crap’ still happens regardless of whether you support it or not! You get to sit there behind your fancy brick walls in that school, ignoring the people dying on the street! Ignoring the screams and the gunshots every year! So you not ‘supporting this crap’ doesn’t mean you are helping stop ‘this crap’! You’re doing nothing! These people here…” She points around the room at the bodies and looks up at Clarke in anguish.

“They were doing something.” Her voice shakes and her bottom lip trembles and she hates this weakness but she can’t control it. She wants to walk away, to leave Clarke far behind but everywhere she turns, there’s dead bodies. She closes her eyes and she suddenly hears Clarke sigh behind her before she hears the sound of her limping her way across the room.

_Just go away…_

“Who are they?” Clarke asks quietly. Lexa sighs again and shakes her head.

“Clarke…”

“Look, I’m sorry. I know these people were your friends. But…I’ve lost people because of the Purge as well. My father…” Clarke trails off and Lexa turns to see there are tears in her eyes and she’s swallowing hard, her hands clenched into fists.

“My father was killed six years ago during The Purge and…it’s haunted me every single day since. So I know what it’s like to lose someone to all…this.” She gestures around the room and Lexa stares at her for a few moments. Her expression is hard to read, but it’s a mixture of sympathy, and guilt.

Guilt that she’s alive and her father is dead. Just like Lexa feels guilty that she’s alive and Echo and everyone else in this safe-house is dead. Clarke is staring into her eyes and Lexa has no way to describe what it feels like, but it feels like Clarke is staring right into her soul. It causes a shiver to go right up her spine and Lexa takes a sharp breath in before tearing her gaze away, looking down at her feet.

“Who are they?” Clarke asks again, stepping even closer until she’s standing in front of Lexa. Lexa sighs, but keeps her gaze on the ground before answering. 

“They’re part of Anya’s group. And Anya is part of a nationwide militia rebel group that’s been fighting for years to try and stop innocent people from getting slaughtered during The Purge. They knew they couldn’t stop the actual Purge because no one can stop it. It’s a success, isn’t it? Crime is basically non-existent for every day of the year…except this one. So the militia group, they do what they can to keep the people safe every year. That’s how they fight The Purge. They patrol the city and they stop those monsters out there from hunting down the homeless and the poor, and they bring them back to their safe-houses for the night to keep them safe. This one is Anya’s safe-house.” It’s silent for a few moments before Clarke speaks again.

“Were you someone Anya saved?” She asks quietly. Lexa looks up at her to see the look of guilt still hasn’t left her eyes, but there’s something else there too.

Wonder. Wonder about Lexa and who she is. And Lexa finds herself telling her story for the first time in a long time for a reason she can’t quite put her finger on.

“Over ten years ago. I was young, only 8 at the time. My parents had died long before, when I was 5. The Purge…” She looks at Clarke, who is still staring at her in wonder, but her eyes also seem sad, like she knows what Lexa is about to say.

“The Purge took my parents from me as well. I was homeless for those years, roaming the streets, stealing food from bins…and I’d been surviving the Purge every year since by hiding in bins and vents inside buildings. When I was 8, I took refuge inside a dumpster when someone found me. He slashed me with a knife…” Lexa looks down at the scar on her forearm, fingers grazing over it before her hand falls to her stomach where she knows her other scar is. But that scar wasn’t obtained from that night…

_Don’t think about that!_

“I…he was on top of me and then there was a loud bang and he suddenly fell to the ground. Anya picked me up in her arms and brought me here without a word. I knew she was protecting me, and I knew she would protect me for as long as I needed protection, because the look in her eyes screamed murder. But I didn’t care. I was safe, and that’s all that mattered to me. Ever since then, this is where I’ve stayed every year for the Purge, fighting with her crew...” Clarke is silent for a few moments before she frowns.

“So you’re a part of all this?” Lexa nods, but Clarke’s frown remains.

“Why weren’t you here this time? Why aren’t you fighting with them?” Lexa’s eyes find Echo’s body and she looks back up at Clarke to distract herself.

“Anya told me it wasn’t safe. She’s very protective of me. She told me I needed to be safe at home. So I stayed home. Reluctantly.” Clarke nods once.

“So…the people who came here and-”

“Killed everyone?” Lexa finishes bitterly. Clarke bows her head and Lexa sighs.

“There’s this guy called Cage. Cage Wallace. And he leads a business that pretty much involves taking people off the street and from their homes during the Purge and selling them to rich people to kill.” Clarke stares. And stares. Lexa’s beginning to wonder if she’s still alive or if she’s died of shock when she shifts suddenly, wincing from the pain in her leg.

“No. No, no way-”

“This is what’s been going on in the outside world, Clarke. You don’t know how good you’ve got it behind those brick walls of yours.” Clarke looks at Lexa once more before shaking her head, like the idea of it is so absurd. It’s crazy how little she knows, crazy how there are people out there who don’t suffer through this night. Even though it’s everything Lexa is fighting for, the idea of this night not existing is foreign to her. This night has existed since the day she was born, even many years before that…

“So, this guy, Cage, he-he takes people from the streets-”

“Yes. And he takes them to this big event where pretty much anyone from a higher class with a hell of a lot of money converges during the Purge and wait for him to bring in a batch of us so they can bid on who they want to kill. The tougher we look, the more it’s a challenge for them, and the more money they pay.” Lexa says bitterly.

“But, why is he after Anya?” Clarke says, blinking rapidly, as if all this information is too much to take in at once. It probably is, but Lexa’s finding that talking about it is distracting her from remembering that Echo and everyone else is dead.

“Because Anya is taking people off the street and bringing them here, to safety. And the strong ones end up joining our cause a majority of the time. Cage needs them to profit his little operation. He didn’t know about the safe-house and he’s been wondering how she’s been doing it for years, but he somehow found out and Anya was only warned today, so she had no choice but to go beat him to the punch and take him out. But clearly, he’s one step ahead of Anya and…” Lexa gestures around the room again and Clarke runs a hand through her hair.

“God, this is a mess.” She whispers, her voice cracking from the strain. Lexa nods and turns, looking at the bodies on the stairs. 

“A really big fucking mess.” Lexa whispers. What the hell are they supposed to do now? Half of Anya’s forces are gone now, dead. How is she supposed to help people now?

She suddenly hears Clarke gasp behind her and she turns to see Clarke’s eyes fluttering as she sways. Lexa rushes forward, her heart racing as she catches Clarke before she falls. 

_No way, I am not losing her too!_

Clarke grips her forearms tightly, breathing heavily and Lexa strengthens her hold.

“My leg…” Clarke croaks. Lexa wraps one of Clarke’s arms over her neck, the other around her waist as she begins carrying her toward one of the bedrooms. She opens the door, kicking at it with her leg and it’s thankfully empty of any bodies. She carries her toward the bathroom connected to it. It’s a small bathroom, a toilet and a sink with a medicine cabinet above it and a bathtub taking up the rest of the space at the back of the bathroom, but Lexa knows there’s a first aid kit in here, so she sits Clarke down on the toilet gently. Clarke’s breathing is uneven and she’s pale, and Lexa may not know much about medicine but she knows that isn’t a good sign. Lexa opens the medicine cabinet hurriedly and pulls out the first aid kit. 

“Take care of the cut on my head first.” Clarke breaths. Lexa looks at her with a frown, but does as Clarke says. She clearly has a bit more experience in medicine than Lexa does, she knew exactly what to do with Echo.

_Echo…_

She shakes her head, trying to stop herself from crying and instead reaches out and places her fingers underneath Clarke’s chin, lifting her head up toward the light. 

“The light isn’t disturbing you?” Lexa asks.

“No.” Clarke says, shaking her head slightly. Lexa nods.

“Good. You don’t have a concussion.”

“No, but I have a gigantic headache.” Lexa smiles before gripping Clarke’s chin a little tighter.

“Stay still.” Clarke nods once and Lexa raises an eyebrow at her.

“Sorry.” She whispers. Lexa can’t help but smile again and she examines the cut on Clarke’s head.

“Is it bad?” Clarke asks. Lexa shrugs. She’s seen worse than this. Much worse.

“Not really.” 

“Do you have a mirror?” She asks. Lexa reaches for the one inside the medicine cabinet and hands it to her. Clarke takes it and examines the cut on her forehead. She touches the wound before wincing and nodding once.

“It’s already stopped bleeding. I think it’s alright.”

“You’re medically trained?” Lexa asks. Clarke smiles weakly.

“No, but my mother’s a doctor. She’s the head of the Medical Station at the University.” Lexa’s eyes widen in shock. Great, so she’s the daughter of a professor? Lexa shakes her head.

“So if you die, the whole University will be after me.” She says bitterly. Clarke chuckles and shakes her head.

“No they won’t. We all have to sign forms upon admission saying that the school isn’t responsible for-”

“For any injuries obtained during the Purge outside the walls of the school. Yeah, I hear the announcement every year.” Lexa repeats almost off by heart. Clarke looks at her in surprise.

“But you live all the way here-.”

“It’s a very loud announcement.” Lexa says, raising an eyebrow. Clarke chuckles before sighing and looking in the mirror again. She touches the cut on her forehead once more, clearly feeling for something.

“Doesn’t feel like there’s any glass from the car in there, so…” Lexa smiles.

“Perhaps you’re better suited to tend to your injuries.” Clarke smiles at her and shakes her head.

“I trust you.” Lexa’s heart skips a beat at that and she freezes for a moment before smiling to herself. Trusting a complete and total stranger…Clarke is a very strange young woman, she deduces. 

She takes a small bottle of iodine from the kit and grabs the sterilized rag inside it before putting the rag on top of the bottle and shaking it back and forth. She presses the rag to the cut on Clarke’s head and Clarke instantly feels heat and pain surge to her head.

“Ow!” Lexa moves her hand back and Clarke shakes her head.

“No, it’s fine, it’s just…it shocked me.” Lexa chuckles to herself and Clarke rolls her eyes before grabbing Lexa’s wrist and dragging the rag back to her forehead. Clarke growls lightly but stays still as Lexa slowly cleans it. As soon as she’s done, she quickly goes over the marks on her neck, which is already bruising. Clarke winces and Lexa quickly cleans the small cuts from the man’s fingers. 

Lexa hadn’t seen Clarke underneath him when she’d finally managed to exit her apartment and enter the alleyway, but she knew he was attacking someone. Clarke’s scream for help had been so urgent and so filled with fear, Lexa hadn’t even hesitated in running to her front door and almost ripping the couch away from it. It had been almost instant, the way her finger had squeezed the trigger without hesitation the second she entered the alleyway and spotted him. She watched him fall, watched him die as a result of her steadiness, but she hadn’t felt any guilt. Anyone who killed simply for the fun of it wasn’t worth the life they were given.

“Now. Onto your leg.” Lexa says, frowning. She crouches down low, turning her attention to Clarke’s leg. She unties the rag from around Clarke’s thigh as Clarke reaches into the kit and pulls out pain killers. She pops a few pills and turns on the tap for the sink, cupping her hand underneath it and raising the water to her mouth quickly to drink from it. She drinks the pills and swallows loudly before sighing and stuffing the container into her pocket. She looks up at Lexa sheepishly and Lexa shakes her head.

“It’s fine, take them. You’ll need them.” Lexa finally finishes untying the rag from her leg and as soon as it’s undone, blood oozes slowly over her jeans. Lexa closes her eyes, taking a deep breath as Clarke hisses in pain.

“Bad?” She breathes out.

“It’s…it’s still bleeding. I can’t see it, your clothes are in the way.” Lexa says, looking up at Clarke. Clarke bites her lip with hesitance before nodding.

“We just need to tie another rag around it. Put more pressure.”

“Clarke, you look faint, are you sure we shouldn’t clean the wound or something?” Lexa asks. Clarke shakes her head.

“Not with the iodine, that might make it worse, just…grab a fresh rag and douse it in water, then wrap it around my leg.” Lexa does as she’s told, all the while trying to keep herself from vomiting because wounds are not her specialty and all they do is bring back dark memories she’d rather forget. She can feel the wound on her stomach ache from the memory, but she pushes it aside. 

Clarke needs her help. 

She douses a rag in water before squeezing it, then wrapping it around Clarke’s leg. As soon as she tightens it, Clarke winces and grabs her shoulder, her nails digging into Lexa’s skin, but she doesn’t mind.

“You okay?” She asks.

“Tie…a second rag.” Clarke breathes out, her eyes fluttering shut. Lexa grabs a second rag and repeats the process, her fingers working fast but delicately. Clarke is silent for a few moments, watching her before she speaks.

“What you said when-when you closed Echo’s eyes…” She says, and Lexa looks up at her.

“Yu gonplei ste odon.” She repeats. 

“What does it mean?” Clarke asks hoarsely. Lexa sighs.

“It means ‘your fight is over’. It’s a tradition we have, it’s a little silly, but it’s our way of sending someone off when they die. A way of saying thank you for sacrificing yourself to the cause.” She says simply before turning her attention back to Clarke’s leg.

“It’s not silly.” Lexa looks up to see Clarke’s eyes have grown sad. Lexa returns to wrapping her leg, clearing her throat so as not to show emotion before Clarke speaks again.

“What language is that?” Lexa chuckles to herself and shrugs.

“It’s called Trigedasleng. A long time ago, maybe six or seven years, a guy like Cage, a guy in charge of a group taking people off the streets during the Purge, had a spy infiltrate and place cameras at the safe-house of one of the rebel groups in another state. I can’t remember which one, but we lost that group and we’ve never really been able to build another one there. So, the rebel groups decided to make a language that would allow us to speak freely without fear of an outsider or a spy learning of our plans. A language that would be easy to understand, but one that had never been used before by anyone.” 

“So they just…invented a language?” Clarke says in shock. Lexa smiles and nods once. 

“Pretty much. Anya taught all of us how to speak it and now it’s mainly what we speak in when discussing plans that involve Cage or anything else that involves a lot of planning, really.” Clarke simply watches her and Lexa finds herself tearing her gaze away from Clarke and focusing on her leg once more. Clarke is silent for a few moments before she suddenly clears her throat.

“Lexa, why aren’t you with Anya? I know you said she’s overprotective, but, you look my age, which means you’re over 18. You should be able to do what you want.” Lexa sighs.

“I am 18. 19, actually. But Anya is overprotective. Especially over me. I’ve been with her for so many years, we’re like family now. She’s been training me for years and years, but I think she thinks I’ll never be ready. She wants to keep me safe for as long as she can. Our relationship…it’s hard to explain. But I owe her everything. I would never betray her or disobey her just to get what I want. It’s poor repayment for everything she’s done for me.” Lexa’s jaw clenches in her anger over Anya’s silly overprotectiveness because maybe, just maybe, if Lexa had been here, Echo and everyone else would’ve survived. Clarke stares at Lexa for a few moments before clearing her throat.

“Sounds like she really cares about you.” Lexa nods once, clenching her jaw again.

“She does.” Lexa finishes tying the knot of the bandage and Clarke sighs.

“Good. It’s the best we can do for now.” She breathes.

“When Anya arrives, she can help. She’ll know what to do.” Lexa says. Clarke simply nods and Lexa sits down with her back to the wall, the tiles cool against her skin. They’re silent for a few moments before Lexa bites her lip and looks up at Clarke.

“I’m sorry. For yelling at you before. I was just-” Clarke interrupts her by shaking her head.

“You have nothing to apologize for. I understand.” Lexa looks down at her feet guilty before she hears Clarke shift.

“I’m glad you saved my life, Lexa. Thank you.” Clarke says suddenly. Lexa looks up at her to see she’s smiling at her. Lexa can’t help but return it.

“I’m glad I saved your life too, Clarke.” Clarke chuckles and Lexa grins before there’s a sudden crash beneath them. Lexa jumps, her heart racing, but then she hears Anya’s voice.

“LEXA?” She jumps up.

“ANYA! I’M UP HERE!” Clarke stands and Lexa helps her out of the bathroom and out of the bedroom just as Anya reaches the top of the stairs. The second she sees Lexa, she rushes forward and embraces her tightly and Lexa lets go of Clarke to hug her.

“Thank god you’re alright.” She whispers, her arms wrapping around Lexa’s shoulders. 

“I’m alright.” Lexa says, her voice muffled by Anya hugging her so tightly, but she doesn't care. For the briefest, briefest moment, she feels like a child again. For the briefest, briefest moment...she feels safe.

Anya lets go of her and Lexa realizes she’s in full armor, a gard-brace covering her left shoulder and a leather breastplate protecting her chest. She’s wearing a black shirt underneath and beige cargo pants, as well as boots that stop just below her knee. Her hazel eyes are covered in black paint and her hair is braided in some sections, all of it tucked behind her shoulders. This was the symbol, this way they dressed and styled themselves. The symbol of a warrior. You can’t not look at Anya and think to yourself that she’s a warrior. That she’s ready for war. It instills fear, but also hope, Anya had told her. And Lexa can see it now when she looks at her. Hope. Pure and unadulterated hope.

Anya looks behind Lexa at Clarke, who’s leaning against the doorway of the room.

“Who’s this?” Anya asks, letting go of Lexa.

“I found her in the alleyway behind my apartment, she was attacked by a man. I saved her. Her name is-”

“Clarke.” Clarke says, extending her hand. Anya suddenly looks at her with wide eyes.

“Hey! Your friend is up here!” She shouts suddenly, tilting her head toward the staircase and Clarke’s eyes widen.

“Bellamy?” She says, a hint of desperation in her voice. She hears the sound of pounding footsteps before-

“BELLAMY?” Octavia Blake’s face appears at the top of the stairs and Clarke’s heart drops.

“Octavia?” Octavia’s green eyes go wide with shock as she looks at Clarke, but Clarke barely opens her mouth when she hears more footsteps and sees Finn and Raven behind Octavia, both of them looking worried and terrified out of their wits and Clarke’s entire body almost collapses in shock.

“CLARKE! THANK GOD!” Raven runs forward, a massive grin on her face and Clarke practically collapses into her, a sob escaping her despite herself. She’s so glad to see her, but she’s angry. What the hell are they all doing out here? She pulls back after a while, anger and shock and fear flooding through her.

“What are you three doing out here?” She demands.

“I heard the crash when I was on the phone with you, I knew you guys were in trouble-” Octavia starts.

“So you came out here to find us?” Clarke says in shock.

“Of course we did, we weren’t gonna leave you and Bellamy out here to die!” Finn says in outrage.

“But how did you get past the gate?” Clarke exclaims.

“We almost didn’t, but Octavia told them if they didn’t let her out she would rip their heads out of their asses, it was kind of brilliant-"

“Anyway, we were out here looking for you, and the sirens started blaring and we got scared, we knew we were stuck out here for the rest of the night. We were almost attacked by a bunch of guys, so we just started running as fast as could and then we ran into her,” Raven points at Anya. “And we asked her if she’d seen you and she said no, but that we should stick with her because if we didn’t, we’d probably die, and well…” Raven runs a hand through her chocolate brown hair and sighs, “We were pretty sure she’s one of the good guys-”

“WHERE’S BELLAMY?” Octavia shouts suddenly. Clarke takes her eyes off Raven to look at Octavia, whose eyes are frantically looking around the room for any sign of her brother. Her heart drops and she gazes down at her feet.

“I’m…I’m sorry, Octavia, but when I woke up, I was alone in the car and Bellamy was gone.”

“GONE? GONE WHERE!?” She screams, moving toward Clarke in anger and Clarke steps back instinctively.

“I don’t know! He was just gone! I’m so sorry, Octavia-” Clarke starts, moving toward Octavia with nothing but guilt soaring through her, but she steps back.

“We have to find him! I am not leaving this City without my brother!” She shouts, looking back and forth between everyone in the room, her eyes filling with tears as she grips her dark brown hair in frustration.

“We will help you find your brother, Octavia.” Anya says suddenly, standing from where she’s seated beside Echo’s body, Lexa standing behind her with her head bowed. She walks toward them. If she’s upset about her dead warriors, her face does not show it. It’s devoid of any emotion. Octavia looks at Anya, who looks at all of them, but Clarke’s eyes are on Lexa, who doesn’t look at her, tears in her eyes.

“If you want to live tonight, you’ll stay with our group. We’ll try to keep you alive until tomorrow and deliver you back to your campus, hopefully, unharmed. Well, any more harmed than you already are.” She says, looking at Clarke, and Lexa’s head snaps up at that.

“What about Cage?” Lexa asks. Anya closes her eyes and sighs.

“We don’t have a lead on him, but I have other groups out there searching for him. If we find him, we will get them to safety before heading out and eliminating him.” Lexa nods once and Finn looks at Raven, who looks at Anya in shock.

“What is going on here?” She asks. Clarke sighs, her head pounding and the whole world still spinning slightly.

“It’s a long story. Basically, these guys are part of a nationwide militia rebel group fighting to keep people safe and alive during the Purge. They’re at war with this Cage guy, who kidnaps people off the streets during the Purge and basically sells them to rich people so they can ‘cleanse themselves’.” Raven’s eyes go wide and Finn runs his hands through his hair, his eyes just as wide as Raven’s. None of them knew, and Clarke feels like a complete failure as she stares at all her friends looking at Anya in complete awe and shock. How could they all be so ignorant to what was going on around them? Why had the university kept them out of the know? They were so guarded, and they had no idea...

“Holy shit…” Finn whispers.

“What if these people took Bellamy?” Octavia says suddenly, looking at Clarke and Anya desperately. Clarke’s heart drops. She hadn’t thought of that. The thought of Bellamy being kidnapped and sold to a bunch of rich people to be killed makes her stomach turn and bile rises in her throat again. Anya looks at Octavia in hesitation.

“Pray that he hasn’t been.” She says simply. Tears fall from Octavia’s eyes immediately.

“This is my fault…” She whispers. Clarke immediately rushes forward, hugging her tightly.

“Stop it. This isn’t your fault, Octavia. We’re going to find Bellamy, alright?” Octavia simply hugs her back, nodding against her shoulder and Clarke closes her eyes, taking a deep breath in before letting her go.

“Come. We’re heading somewhere safe where you’ll be able to get food and water. My people are waiting downstairs for us.” Anya says. They all nod and Raven and Finn head down the stairs, followed by Octavia. Clarke begins following them, her leg slowing her down and she hears Lexa and Anya begin speaking behind her.

“I tried to save Echo, I tried, but I couldn’t stop the bleeding, I’m so sorry, Anya-”

“Em pleni!” Anya hisses. Lexa immediately stops talking and Anya sighs.

“You couldn’t save her, Lexa, so stop blaming yourself. You anger me when you do. It’s alright. None of this is your fault. You did well.” Clarke hears Lexa sigh before Anya suddenly speaks up again.

“Did…did you do it properly?” She asks. 

“Yes.” They begin following Clarke down the steps and Clarke quickens her pace as not to alert them that she’d been eavesdropping.

“Jus drein jus daun.” Anya hisses. 

“I know. And it will.” Lexa says, her tone turning harsh. Clarke suddenly feels the world sway and she almost misses the last step. She grips the railing and less than two seconds later, she feels a pressure on her arm as someone grabs it. She turns to see Lexa looking at her with concern.

“Are you okay?” 

“Yeah. I just…my leg.” Clarke finishes lamely. Lexa wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her arm around her neck.

“You’re losing too much blood and walking on it is only aggravating it. Once we get to the truck, you’ll be able to rest it.” Lexa says. Clarke nods once before Lexa suddenly leans in to her ear.

“I’m pretty sure we’re heading to another safe-house. There’s a doctor there, he’ll tend to your injuries.” She whispers. It takes Clarke a second to remember what Lexa told her about Cage using spies to eavesdrop on them and that that’s the reason why she’s whispering, considering Clarke doesn’t know the rebel’s language. All these things they have to do just to stay alive. It makes Clarke angry. 

_What the hell has this world come to?_

When Lexa pulls back, Clarke looks at her before nodding. Lexa’s eyes go down to the floor, but Clarke catches the look of sadness in them.

“Are you okay?” Clarke asks her gently. Lexa looks up at her and smiles slightly.

“I’m okay.” 

“Clarke, how did you hurt yourself?” Clarke turns to see Octavia, Finn and Raven standing beside the stairs, as far away from the dead bodies as possible. Finn looks green and Octavia looks anxious, but Raven is looking at her in concern as she reaches for her. Clarke grabs her hand and holds it tightly.

“In the accident. The whole passenger side kind of dented in.” Octavia suddenly looks at her, concern on her face.

“Do you know if Bellamy…if he was hurt? Was there any sign…?” She trails off, swallowing the lump in her throat and Clarke immediately disregards any thought of telling her about the blood she found on the door or the vague flashbacks of someone being dragged and shouting.

“No, I…I didn’t see anything. I’m sorry, Octavia.” Tears swim in Octavia’s eyes before she nods once, her jaw clenching tightly. Raven helps Lexa carry Clarke down the last step and Clarke notices other people around the living room and kitchen, leaning down beside bodies, some of them stoic, some of them looking incredibly disheartened. They've all lost people tonight. Clarke feels a wave of anger rush through her, and even though she knows nothing about him, she finds herself wishing a painful death upon this Cage guy. She looks at Lexa.

“Are these your people?” 

“Yes.” She says simply. Raven officially mirrors Lexa on Clarke’s other side and both of them practically carry her toward the front door when Anya suddenly moves in front of it, facing all of them. Her face is filled with nothing but determination, but there’s a hint of grief in her hazel eyes that seems to only be illuminated by the black paint covering them.

“Leave the bodies. There’s nothing we can do for them now. We’ll give them the proper burial they deserve once this night is over.” She says, her jaw clenching.

“What’s the plan?” One guy says, stepping forward. He’s much older than both Lexa and Anya, his brown hair short with one long section braided, his beard long and unkempt. He’s wearing a simple black shirt and camouflaged cargo pants, and Clarke looks around to see all of Anya’s soldiers are wearing the same and all of them have war paint of some kind on their faces. His brown eyes are filled with sorrow, and also (and Clarke isn’t sure how she can tell this) kindness. She can tell he's someone who has seen a lot in his lifetime. 

“Oso gyon au Indra. Emo laik klir ouder.” Anya nods towards them and Clarke looks at Raven, Finn and Octavia, who stare at Anya in confusion. Clarke turns her gaze to Lexa and the man, who nod solemnly before the man follows Anya out of the front door. Finn, Raven and Octavia don't question what was said, however, and instead begin walking forward. 

 

“Come.” Lexa helps Clarke out of the door with Raven’s help and Clarke is immediately hit with shock at the sight of a gigantic black armored truck parked on the road.

“Whoa.” Clarke whispers. 

“Holy crap.” Raven says. She looks at Lexa, who smiles at her.

“We have our resources.” She says. 

“Clearly.” Raven says breathlessly.

“The addition of you four means we need another truck. We won’t be travelling in that one.” Anya suddenly says behind them before moving in front of them.

“We won’t?” Clarke asks. Anya suddenly nods to further down the street and Clarke turns to see another armor truck that looks much bigger and is more heavily protected making its way toward them. It stops behind the first armor truck with a screech that echoes loudly and Clarke winces at the sound, her head pounding. 

Lexa leads Clarke and Raven toward it, and someone opens the door and steps out of the driver’s side. He’s tall and incredibly well built, and Clarke sees he’s wearing the same clothes as Gustus, his shirt hugging his chest and arms tightly. His brown eyes are narrowed as he looks up and down the street for any sign of a threat. His head is shaven all for a black strip of hair down the middle of his head. Clarke has to admit, he’s incredibly attractive-

“Oh my god! LINCOLN!” Clarke turns in shock, and so does Raven as Octavia runs past them both and into the arms of the man who stepped out of the car. There’s a slight second of shock on his face before he catches her, hugging her to his body tightly.

“Octavia! What are you doing out here?” He growls, setting her down and placing her head in his hands gently. He’s so tall compared to Octavia, he has to bend his knees to look into her eyes. Clarke is completely stumped, speechless as Lexa and Raven move her closer towards the two, who are looking at each other with a mix of emotions.

“My brother, he’s out here, and I couldn’t leave him…” Octavia begins crying and Lincoln hugs her close to him, his eyes closing as he sighs.

“You should’ve called me and told me, stayed behind the walls of the University. You know this is what I do, I would have found him, kept him safe.” Lincoln says into her hair.

“I-I didn’t think, I’m sorry-” She says, pulling away from him.

“Wait, you’re Lincoln?” Clarke asks, stepping forward with Lexa and Raven still clinging to her. Octavia tears her loving gaze away from Lincoln.

“How do you know about him?” Octavia asks, looking at Clarke in confusion.

“Bellamy told me he thought you were with him,” She says, nodding toward Lincoln. “That you knew he could protect you, but Bellamy didn’t know he was…well, a rebel. That’s why he thought it was possible you decided to stay out during The Purge.” Octavia’s jaw clenches and Lincoln sighs. 

“I’m Clarke. This is Raven, and Finn.” Clarke says, jerking her head back at Finn, who’s behind them. Lincoln nods once at each of them.

“If I’d just called Bellamy and told him…” Octavia says suddenly, bowing her head.

“We’ll find him.” Clarke says for what feels like the thousandth time. Octavia wipes her eyes and nods determinedly and Lincoln leans forward, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“Disha yo houmon, Linkon?” Lexa says suddenly, her tone teasing. Octavia, Raven and Clarke look at her as Lincoln rolls his eyes.

“Shof op, Lexa.” Lexa raises an eyebrow and nods once, her expression almost impressed before she shrugs.

“She’s pretty.” Lincoln smiles and chuckles slightly before shaking his head.

“I’m so going to kick your ass at the next training session.” He says. Lexa scoffs.

“You wish.” She mutters, although Clarke catches the look in her eye that almost screams 'if we have a next training session'. Lincoln, however, smirks and Octavia looks at Lexa with a grin before she looks up at Lincoln. Lexa leads Clarke and Raven around toward the passenger side of the car.

“What did she say?” Clarke hears Octavia ask.

“What DID you say?” Raven asks Lexa. Lexa chuckles and raises an eyebrow at them both.

“We’ve known Lincoln’s been seeing someone for a while, but he’s been secretive about who. I was just teasing him.” Clarke raises an eyebrow at Lexa.

“You two train together?” Clarke asks. Lexa nods.

“Lincoln’s trained in mixed martial arts. He does sessions with me from time to time. He’s stronger, but I’m smaller, can get around him faster. I’d say we’re evenly matched.” She says, smirking. 

“I heard that. And no we’re not.” Lincoln says from around the truck. Lexa chuckles before letting go of Clarke and reaching for the latch of the door. It swings open upwards and Raven whistles in appreciation.

“Damn.” There’s over 10 seats inside the truck, with two at the far back, two rows of three in the middle and then the driver and passenger seat. Clarke jumps when Anya suddenly opens the door to the passenger side, turning around to stare at them before pointing at the first row of seats.

“Your friends can sit there. It’s best if you sit in the back with Lexa and rest your leg across the seat. Gustus will sit behind you. The others are taking the second truck.” 

“You go first.” Lexa says. Clarke grits her teeth and steps up into the truck with Raven’s help. Her leg immediately protests the weight, but she simply growls and pushes forward. As soon as she’s at the furthest seat, she sits down. Lexa steps in after her and sits beside her easily.

“Legs.” She says simply. Clarke looks at her and Lexa rolls her eyes before gently taking Clarke’s injured leg and resting it across her lap. Clarke hisses in pain and Lexa looks up at her.

“It’s okay.” Clarke assures her. She props her other foot across Lexa’s lap as well and leans with her back against the side of the truck. She sighs in relief as the pressure is taken completely off her leg. 

“Are you okay?” Raven asks. Clarke nods once and Raven files into the seat in front of her, turning back to look at her.

“Thank you.” Clarke says breathlessly to Lexa and Raven.

“Winded?” Raven asks, chuckling.

“Hey, that took a lot out of me.” Clarke croaks hoarsely. She’s beginning to realize how thirsty she is now. That small amount of water she drank when she took the pain killers did nothing in nourishing her. Lexa touches her shoulder.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be there in no time.” Octavia and Finn suddenly round the corner of the truck and begin filing in, Finn sitting beside his girlfriend.

“You look comfy.” He says, grinning and winking at her and Clarke finds it amazing that he can still be annoying despite their current situation, but she feels immediate heat rise to her cheeks.

“Shut up, Finn.” He laughs as Octavia sits beside him.

“How are you feeling?” Octavia asks her.

“I’ll be alright.” Clarke reassures her. The man with the beard and kind eyes suddenly shows up with Lincoln and he steps inside the truck, moving behind Lexa and Clarke to sit in the seat behind them. Clarke realizes this must be Gustus and she smiles at him.

"Gustus, right?" She says. He smiles kindly and nods and she holds out her hand.

"Clarke." He takes it in his own gigantic hand, but shakes it with such care that Clarke can't help but grin widely, tears in her eyes. 

He reminds her of her father.

Lincoln suddenly shuts the passenger door as hard as he can, banging it shut and Clarke is thrown out of her haunting memories. A few seconds later, he opens the driver’s door and sits in the driver’s seat. The truck rumbles to life and Clarke sighs, finally allowing her body to relax in what feels like hundreds of hours.

“What time is it?” She asks Lexa. Lexa looks down at the watch around her wrist.

“8:00.” Clarke groans.

“We’re only an hour into this night?” Lexa bites her lip and nods and Clarke leans back, closing her eyes, wishing she could just fall asleep…

“I was hoping it was almost sunrise.” She groans. Lexa can’t help but smile.

“Not quite.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm hoping to update this every second day, but it truly depends on when I have time to go through and edit the chapters. But anyway, hope you liked this one! Also I may have gotten some of the Trigedasleng wrong, if I have, I'm very sorry!


	3. Chapter 3

They travel through the City, and Clarke tries her best to ignore the sounds of screaming and gunfire, but it’s hard to block out. When she was on campus it was easier: the sound was distant and she could easily block it out with music, ignore the news for a few days that only reported the outcome of the Purge for hours on end before everything went back to normal. Now, it's much harder. She has no music and it's right in front of her face, the orange light of the fires illuminating the windows and making her feel like she'd died and descended into hell within a span of seconds. 

She should've realised that she'd been living in hell all along, though. How could she not know it was this bad? 

Anya orders the second truck to save as many people as they can and the second truck filled with her soldiers goes off on its own, with Lincoln still making his way toward their destination. Clarke simply refuses to look out of the truck, instead choosing to close her eyes and lean back in her seat. She feels a light pressure around her hand that's resting on the seat and opens her eyes to see Lexa smiling sadly at her.

"I'm sorry you have to see all this. But this is how it is." She whispers. Clarke simply nods and closes her eyes once more, but her grip on Lexa's hand tightens. 

It’s a half hour drive that feels like a million years and finally, the truck comes to a stop.

“We’re here.” Lincoln says finally. Anya’s the first to get out, followed by Lincoln, who goes around the side and opens the passenger door for them. Raven, Finn and Octavia get out first, and Lexa unbuckles her seatbelt. 

“Alright.” Lexa gently slides out from under Clarke’s legs and Clarke can already feel the world spinning as she slowly sits up. Clarke bites her lip before sliding along the seat gently, but even that sends shockwaves through her leg. She groans. 

"What is it?" Lexa asks her, but Clarke shakes her head.

"I can do it." 

"Are you sure?" Lexa asks. Clarke simply grips Lexa’s hand and sighs.

“I hate being dependent.” She grumbles. Lexa laughs and Clarke is so surprised, she freezes for a few moments before laughing as well, not from what she said, but just from the sheer euphoria of hearing Lexa laugh. She was almost positive Lexa was the type to never laugh, to take everything seriously...apparently she was wrong.

“What’s so funny?” Clarke jumps and turns to see Lincoln shutting the door Anya exited out of, a smirk on his face.

“Nothing.” Lexa says, still chuckling.

“Disha yo houmon, Leksa?” Lincoln says suddenly, grinning widely. Any trace of a smile is wiped from Lexa’s face and Clarke can practically see the heat rise to her cheeks as she blushes.

“Shut up, Lincoln.” She growls, before suddenly wrapping an arm around Clarke’s waist and helping her out of the truck. Clarke hears Lincoln chuckle behind them. Clarke’s about to ask her what he said when Gustus exits the truck from behind her. He watches Lexa carrying Clarke and shakes his head.

“Would you mind if I carried you inside, young one?” He says, looking at Clarke with a kind smile. Clarke blinks in shock for a few moments before biting her lip. 

“No, not at all. Lexa’s probably getting sick of carrying me around.”

“No I’m not.” Lexa says simply, but Gustus simply chuckles and scoops Clarke into his arms as easily as if she were a child. The instant pressure off her leg makes Clarke sigh in relief. Gustus carries her around the corner of the truck and Clarke sees Finn, Octavia and Raven waiting for her.

“You alright?” Raven asks, looking at Gustus carrying her in shock. Clarke simply nods before taking in the house in front of her.

“Wow.” It’s nothing too fancy but, it looks like a proper home. It’s small, but big enough at the same time. There’s a yard at the front and even flowers, but as she moves closer, she begins to notice the differences…the metal grates in front of the windows, the soldiers posted around the house, heavy machine guns in their arms…

“Anya. Hakoum yu kamp raun hir?” One of the soldiers asks in surprise, stepping forward as Anya and everyone else draws closer.

“She’s with me.” Lincoln shouts suddenly, running toward them and falling in step beside Octavia. The soldier spots Lincoln and nods once.

“Indra is inside.” He says, pointing toward the house. Anya nods once and leads the way, followed by Raven, Octavia, Lincoln and Finn. Gustus carries Clarke into the house with Lexa at his side. As soon as they’re inside, Clarke gasps in shock. 

There’s couches everywhere, and some people are asleep on them. There’s a fireplace, which a few people are huddled by, eating food out of cans. Some people have set up tents and are resting inside them. They look scared out of their wits, but some of them seem to be smiling and talking with each other, as if they know they are completely safe now. 

There’s only one dining table to the right side of the house with a few chairs, and there’s what looks like medical supplies all over the table. Gustus immediately carries her over to the table and Clarke looks up to see an older dark-skinned woman exit what looks like the kitchen, her dark eyes surveying everyone carefully. 

“Chon emo bilaik?” She barks. 

“Survivors.” Gustus says. He puts Clarke down and helps her as she sits down on a chair at the dining table. Finn, Octavia and Raven gather around Clarke, and Raven grips her shoulders tightly as Finn and Octavia rest against the wall.

“Wait here.” Lexa says to Clarke, before suddenly turning around and walking back the way they came. She disappears around the corner and Gustus smiles at Clarke.

“Our doctor will help you.”

“Thanks, Gustus.” He bows his head to her and the woman at the kitchen door walks toward them, her eyes hard, which soften when she smiles at Clarke briefly before looking at Gustus.

“Where is Anya?” She asks him.

“Indra.” They all turn to see Anya enter the room. She walks straight to Indra and whispers something in her ear. The woman nods once and turns to enter the room she just exited out of.

“Gustus.” Anya calls over her shoulder. Gustus bows his head to Clarke once more with a smile, then follows Anya into the room.

“Clarke.” Clarke turns back around to see Lexa walking toward her with a tall man who looks like Gustus, except he’s younger, clean-shaven and his eyes are blue.

“This is Nyko. He’s our Doctor.” He walks toward Clarke and kneels down at her feet. 

“Rest your leg up here.” He says, pulling another chair toward them. Clarke rests her right leg up on it and he removes the bandages around her leg. Clarke winces in pain and he stands, grabbing scissors from the table.

“I’ll have to cut your clothes.”

“It’s okay. Do it.” Clarke says, nodding. Nyko bends back down and cuts a square into her jeans around the wound. Clarke looks down when he’s done and she can barely see the cut because of the blood around it that’s continuing to slowly ooze.

“It doesn’t look too bad, the bleeding is slowly down. But you’ve lost a lot of blood. I can tell by your face, you’re paler than the moon. I’ll have to stitch it and bandage it.” Clarke winces, but nods once. 

“Lexa, get her water and something to eat. We need to get her energy back up.” Nyko says, looking up at her briefly before turning his attention back to Clarke’s leg. Lexa nods at Nyko and Clarke notices she’s kind of a delicate shade of green as she walks away. Nyko sighs. 

“Mind if we come with?” Octavia asks Lexa. She shakes her head and Octavia follows her.

“I’ll get you something to eat, too.” Finn says to Raven, before kissing her forehead and following Octavia. As soon as they’re gone, Clarke looks down at Nyko, who begins staunching the blood with a rag and Clarke looks away, instead staring straight ahead. The pain is slowly started to ebb back, but she doesn't want to show any weakness. She instead focuses on asking Nyko what's on her mind.

“Is Lexa okay?” He hesitates before answering.

“She’s not good with cuts. Not after what happened to her.” He says. 

“When she was young, right?” Clarke asks. Nyko looks at her with what looks like hesitation once again before nodding.

“Ah…yes…yes that’s right.” Clarke feels like he’s lying, but she doesn’t press the issue. It’s not her place to.

“What happened to her?” Raven asks, looking at Clarke. Clarke shakes her head.

“It’s a long story.” Raven’s about to say something when Lexa enters the room again, this time holding two tiny bread rolls, a bottle of water and a can of beans.

“Best I could get.” She says. Clarke smiles at her.

“Thanks, Lexa.” 

“It’s good. Beans have protein.” Nyko says, smiling. Lexa smiles down at Nyko before turning to Raven.

“Finn and Octavia are eating in the living room, if you want to join them.” 

“I’ll help out here first.” Raven says. Lexa nods once before placing the water and the food on the table. She bends down next to Nyko with a sigh.

“Lexa, don’t, if this makes you uncomfortable-” Clarke begins.

“I’m fine.” Lexa says, her jaw clenching. Clarke bites her lip as Nyko holds a needle up to a lighter and burns it for a few seconds before easily squeezing a thread through the end of it. He takes a deep breath in and looks at Clarke.

“You ready?” Clarke takes a deep breath in as well, her heart racing.

“Yes.” 

“You might want to hold her hand.” Nyko says to Raven. Clarke reaches for her and her soft hands wrap around Clarke’s tightly. 

“One. Two…” He sticks the needle into her skin and Clarke hisses, but the pain isn’t too bad. As soon as he pulls it through her skin, that’s when the pain hits her and Clarke finds herself digging her nails into Raven’s palm.

“Ow, Clarke.” Raven says, wincing.

“Sorry.” Clarke says, biting her lip. Two minutes later, he’s barely halfway done when Raven lets go of her.

“I think I’ve lost circulation to my hand.” She whispers, shaking her right hand and clutching it with her other hand. Clarke bites her lip.

“I’m so sorry-”

“It’s okay, Raven. Go, get some food and…put some ice on your hand.” Lexa says, chuckling as she stands and puts a hand on Raven’s shoulder. Raven sighs, but nods, looking at Clarke.

“Alright. I’ll come check on you later.” She bends down and kisses Clarke’s forehead quickly and Clarke’s eyes close at her touch. Lexa takes Raven’s spot as Raven leaves to join Finn and Octavia, still shaking her hand and moaning in pain. Lexa suddenly takes Clarke’s hands in her own gently. 

“Maybe that’s not a good idea.” Clarke says. 

“I can handle it, don’t worry.” Lexa says. Clarke sighs, and Nyko continues his work as if there was no interruption. It isn’t long before she’s digging her nails into Lexa’s palm as well, but unlike Raven, Lexa doesn’t complain. As soon as he’s done, he snips the thread with the scissors and Clarke looks down to see the cut is completely stitched, but is almost four inches long. 

_That is definitely going to scar…_

“Crap…” She whispers. Nyko applies a cream over the wound gently.

“The best we can do in terms of antibiotics.” He says, looking up at her.

“It’s okay. My mom can tend to it when…IF I see her. She’s a doctor…” Clarke trails off, a sudden heavy weight crushing her chest at the thought that she might die tonight and she may never see her mother again. And the last thing she did was walk out on her…

_How could I let this happen?_

“When you see her.” Lexa says. Clarke looks up at her to see a look of determination in her eyes.

“WHEN you see her.” She repeats. Clarke sighs but nods once, then looks down at Lexa’s hands. There’s nail indentations in her left palm. She bites her lip.

“Sorry.” Lexa chuckles. 

“It’s alright. I’ve been through worse.” Lexa’s hand goes to her stomach once again and Clarke watches her. There’s a sad look in her eyes as she gazes off into the distance and Clarke finds herself wanting to comfort her, but she has no idea how to. She's been safe behind the walls of the university for a majority of her life. When she was 7 and safe in the arms of her mother and father during this night, Lexa was on her own, hiding in dumpsters to keep herself safe. She probably stayed up the whole night, fear coursing through her...

Clarke has no idea what Lexa's been through, and she knows there's nothing she could ever do or say that would sympathize. 

“There. All done.” Nyko says, and Clarke looks down to see her leg is perfectly wrapped. He stands and holds his hand out to her and she takes it, standing with his help. She applies pressure on her leg and finds it’s barely painful.

“Better. A lot better. Thank you so much, Nyko.” He smiles.

“You’re welcome. Now eat. You’ve a long night ahead of you and you need to gain your strength back.” Clarke sits back down in her seat as Nyko leaves the room. Lexa sits down beside her and Clarke reaches for a bread roll, holding the other one out to Lexa. She raises her hand, shaking her head.

“No, you eat-”

“Lexa, you need food, too. Please.” Lexa sighs, but takes the roll from Clarke with a slight smile. Clarke bites into her own bread and practically devours it in two bites. She hasn’t eaten the whole day, what with being in the Dean’s office for most of the morning, then helping Bellamy find Octavia…she’s hungry. Really hungry. 

“What…” Lexa starts. Clarke looks up at her and Lexa shakes her head.

“Never mind.” Clarke swallows her mouthful of food.

“No, it’s alright. What were you going to ask?” Clarke says, reaching for the bottle of water and draining half of it in one gulp. Lexa sighs, then looks up at her.

“I was going to ask what you were studying at the University.” Clarke lowers the bottle with a chuckle and Lexa rolls her eyes.

“Forget it, it’s-”

“No, no, it’s not that, it’s just…we don’t really have any kind of specific study. It’s almost like a school there, really. We have different stations that deal with different areas of study and every semester, we move to a new one.” 

“Really?” Lexa says, surprised. Clarke nods.

“I’m at the Alpha Station at the moment. It's boring business stuff, mostly. But…I really enjoyed the Medical Station. My mom was the one teaching, which was a bit awkward, but…I still found it really interesting.” 

“So, you want to be a doctor?” Lexa asks. 

“I’m not sure…maybe.” Clarke says, reaching for the beans. Lexa’s silent for a few moments and Clarke looks at her.

“What about you? What do you do, other than help lead a rebellion with Anya?” She says, grinning. Lexa chuckles and hands her a plastic spoon as she opens the can of beans.

“Work at an arcade. It’s not great money, but it’s different…nicer. Kids just stop worrying for a while when they’re there. They’re happy.” Clarke bites her lip and watches as Lexa stares off into the distance for a few moments before leaning back against the seat. “I also help Lincoln out with some training sessions at the gym he owns. That pays for my apartment more than anything, really.” Clarke chews her mouthful of beans and nods once, looking over Lexa’s body and realizing her toned arms and body.

“Do you get a lot of people wanting to train?” Clarke asks, her eyes still roaming over Lexa’s body almost unconsciously. 

“Yeah. Over a hundred a week. Even more in the weeks leading up to the Purge. Kind of have to know how to fight out here, even on normal days.” Clarke doesn’t realize she’s staring at Lexa’s body for a good minute until Lexa shifts and Clarke clears her throat, taking another bite of beans. She contemplates not asking the next question that pops into her mind, but her heart begins racing and she blurts it out before she can stop herself.

“And do you have a partner?” She feels heat immediately rise to her cheeks and Lexa looks at her in confusion for a few seconds before her eyes widen.

“Oh, I…” She trails off before her gaze suddenly drops to the floor. She’s silent for a few moments before she looks up at Clarke and Clarke notices she has tears in her eyes.

“No…not anymore.” She says hoarsely. Clarke feels immediate regret and anger at herself wash over her at the sight of Lexa’s sadness. She suffered a great loss, Clarke can tell.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-”

“No, it’s alright. She…she was killed during The Purge a few years ago.” Lexa says, and Clarke’s heart drops down to somewhere below her navel. She notices Lexa’s no longer eating the bread roll, but playing with it. 

Clarke feels like doing the same, because food doesn’t seem appetizing anymore.

“What was her name?” She asks softly. 

_Shut up, stop talking!_

Lexa’s jaw clenches before she looks down at her hands, interlocking and twisting them together almost unconsciously, like a nervous tic when she's talking about something she doesn't particularly want to talk about. Clarke looks down at her own fingers wrapped around the can of beans, seeing them clench into fists in her mind’s eye whenever her father is mentioned…

“Costia. Her name was Costia.” She says, smiling sadly. Clarke puts down her can of beans and reaches out despite every part of her screaming at her not to. She initially goes for Lexa’s hand, but moves instead to her shoulder, her nerves getting the better of her.

“I’m sorry.” She whispers gently. Lexa nods once before turning to look at her with hesitation before she’s suddenly talking so fast, Clarke can tell she’s been wanting to say this for a long time, the emotions building up inside her and finally bursting forth.

“It was before…before I actually joined the fight. I was too young and Anya refused to let me. Costia and I, we were too late. To get to the safe-house on time…the sirens rang and it was barely a minute into the night when we were ambushed in an alleyway. The guys who attacked us, they were laughing as they surrounded us. I tried to fight, but one of them stabbed me, right here.” Lexa points to her stomach, and Clarke knows there must be a mark there because of how Lexa’s hand has unconsciously touched her stomach the entire night…

“I fell, and I couldn’t do anything. All I could do was watch as he beat her up before…” She stops talking, her head bowing and Clarke feels sick and numb, part of her entranced in Lexa’s story, part of her wanting to not hear any more of it. “He was about to finish me off when I found the strength to reach for a brick beside me. I hit him, and once I started…I couldn’t stop. His friend tried to stop me, but I grabbed the knife the other man dropped and slashed his throat with ease. That was the first night I had ever killed someone. And I enjoyed it. I enjoyed killing them because…because she was there, but she wasn’t there and…” Clarke sees the tears fall down her cheeks before Lexa can stop them and she finds herself leaning forward, wrapping Lexa in her embrace.

“I’m so sorry, Lexa.” Lexa cries silently, one hand around Clarke’s arm that’s wrapped around her and the other on her own stomach, tracing over what Clarke is sure is a scar. 

Clarke feels tears fall down her own cheeks. She couldn’t even imagine it, bearing a constant reminder of the death of someone you loved…she probably traces her hands over that scar every day, wishing things were different, that Costia was still with her…

Now Clarke understands. Now she understands why she fights…

“Clarke, I-” Clarke pulls away as if she’s been zapped and looks up to see Raven staring at them before her eyes widen and she stops mid-way toward them.

“Whoa, I can-I can go…”

“No, I was just leaving. Stay.” Lexa says, wiping her tears and sniffing before standing and walking away. Clarke’s heart drops and she stands from her seat.

“Lexa!” Clarke calls out, but she ignores her, walking past Raven and out of the front door. Clarke sighs in frustration and Raven bites her lip.

“Did I just ruin a moment?” She asks apologetically. Clarke sighs again.

“Yeah. Kind of.” 

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Clarke sits in a chair by the fireplace with Raven, Octavia and Finn all standing by her side, all of them staring at the kitchen door, waiting for Anya, Lexa, Gustus, Lincoln and Indra to come out. They’d gone in there almost an hour ago, and apart from raised voices at times, they’ve been relatively quiet, speaking in their Trigedasleng language. 

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Finn asks them in a whisper, not wanting to gain the attention of the other survivors in the living room, who are oblivious to what’s going on, content and happy with the safety they’ve been guaranteed for the night.

“I don’t know. Must be a pretty heated debate though.” Raven says.

“I don’t care, as long as it involves making a plan to look for Bellamy.” Octavia says, pacing back and forth in front of the fire. 

“If it doesn’t, we’ll go out on our own.” Clarke assures her. Octavia looks at her in surprise.

“Really?” Clark adjusts her leg with a wince and nods.

“Bellamy’s our number one priority here. The war they’re fighting…it’s admirable, but we can’t just jump into a war that has nothing to do with us. It’s not our job. Finding Bellamy is.” Clarke says, sighing and running a hand through her hair. She doesn’t like the idea of leaving the people they’re safest with behind, but they need to find Bellamy.

“It is our fight though, Clarke. This involves us, too. We’re safe at the University, they aren’t. We have to help them.” Raven says softly. Clarke looks up at her.

“I know, I want to help them, but Bellamy’s our friend. We can’t abandon him to go fight a war that we only just learned about today.” 

“She’s right. Finding Bellamy is our goal here.” Finn says somberly. Raven bites her lip, but nods once as tightens her arm around Finn’s waist, leaning into him.

“And once we find him? What then?” Octavia asks. Clarke sighs.

“We try and get through the night without dying.” She says simply. 

“The only way we’re going to be able to do that is if we stick with them.” Octavia says, jerking her head back toward the kitchen. 

“Well I’m sorry, Octavia, but we either look for Bellamy or we stay here!” Clarke snaps, fatigue and frustration taking her over for a brief moment. Raven’s eyes widen and Octavia glares at her for a few moments. Clarke feels immediate regret and she rubs her eyes tiredly.

“I’m sorry, I just…I don’t know what to do here.” She says hoarsely. Octavia’s expression softens and she bends down, putting her hand on Clarke’s knee. 

“I know, but Bellamy-” The kitchen door suddenly bursts open, cutting Octavia off as she turns. Anya’s the first to exit with Gustus by her side, her expression stoic but determined, followed by Lincoln, who looks a little annoyed, then Indra, who simply looks upset. Finally Lexa emerges, and Clarke barely has time to observe her before she walks straight towards them. She bends down beside Clarke and gestures for Raven and Finn to do the same. They do and Lexa looks at all of them, but avoids Clarke’s eyes.

“Keep your voices down, I don’t want anyone else to hear us. We still don’t know where Cage is, and we have no leads. We have some of our people still out there, trying to gather any and as much information as they can. In the meantime, Anya wants to head out and look for any survivors to bring them back here. We’re hoping we’ll find your brother along the way. Indra said looking for him was a waste of time, but Lincoln and I fought for it.” Lexa whispers, looking at Octavia. Octavia smiles, tears in her eyes and Clarke feels relief flood through her.

“Thank you.” Lexa nods once before biting her lip.

“We’re hoping you’ll join us out there. We know we’re asking a lot, and we know it’s dangerous, but we don’t know what Bellamy looks like-”

“We’ll come with you.” Clarke says immediately. Lexa looks at her for a brief second before looking at the fire.

“If we run into danger out there, you’ll need to fight, to kill-”

“We’re coming with you. Whatever it takes.” Clarke repeats, although the thought of killing someone immediately makes her stomach turn and bile rise in her throat.

_For Bellamy._

Lexa looks from her, to Raven and Finn, who both nod, to Octavia.

“When do we leave?” Octavia asks, her jaw clenching.

“In about an hour.” Octavia nods and stands before walking toward Lincoln, who’s talking with Nyko before he notices her and reaches out, wrapping her in his embrace. Clarke looks at her best friend to see Finn wrap his arm around her shoulder as they walk toward the kitchen hand in hand. Clarke sighs and turns to face Lexa, whose jaw is clenched.

“Lexa…” Lexa’s already standing and is about to walk away before Clarke grabs her hand, determined to at least make sure Lexa hears her out. Lexa freezes at her touch.

“I’m sorry if I upset you earlier-” Clarke begins, but Lexa shakes her head, interrupting her.

“You didn’t.” She says, sighing. Clarke doesn’t let go of her and Lexa looks down at their intertwined hands before sitting down beside her again.

“I just…every single day I try so hard to forget what happened, and yet, you simply ask me once, and I’m suddenly telling you everything.” Lexa says, looking at the fire. Clarke stares at her for a while, unsure of what to say. It hits her after a while what she should say. She doesn’t want to talk about it, but Lexa opened up to her about something that was horrible and hurtful…it’s only fair she does the same.

“My father…he lived at the University with my mom and me. He shouldn’t have even been out during the Purge, but the Dean of the University, Thelonious Jaha, he sent my dad out for an errand. Something about picking up supplies for one of the stations. He was supposed to make it back by 6, before they closed the gates but he never did. We don’t know what happened, but Jaha sent some people out to look for him once the Purge was over and…they found his body in a dumpster with a-a whole bunch of other bodies…” Lexa’s head snaps up and she stares at Clarke, who trails off at the look on her face. It’s a mixture of horror and complete and utter surprise. She suddenly lets out a long breath, and looks down at the ground, tears in her eyes.

“What?” Clarke asks, surprised by her reaction. She shakes her head, then bites her lip, still avoiding eye contact. 

“Clarke, I-I don’t know…I don’t know how better to say this but…” Clarke looks at her in shock.

"What? What is it?" Lexa runs a hand through her hair and sighs before looking at her sadly.

“I think…I think your father was captured by Cage and sold to someone. That’s usually what happens to the bodies once they’re…they’re “done” with them. They gather the dead and put them into dumpsters for the police to gather and bury.” 

The whole world seems to spin around her and Clarke grips the armrests of the chair she’s sitting in tightly, trying her best to breathe, but the fire is so close, everything is so close…

“Clarke, I’m so sorry.” 

She can’t breathe, she can’t…

“Clarke?” Lexa’s voice sounds like it’s miles away and Clarke closes her eyes, but all she sees is her father, scared and alone, a bunch of people bidding on his life…

How much did they pay for him? No amount of money was worth his life and in the end, his life was bought. He died being owned by someone else…

“Clarke, just breathe…”

“I-I need to get…get out-” Clarke gasps out. 

“What?” Clarke stands and almost falls, because the world isn’t set straight, nothing is set straight, her father is dead because he was bought…bought to be killed…

“Clarke!” She’s running, pushing past anyone in her way because she needs to get out of here, she needs to-

“Clarke, wait!” She pushes past the front door and the second the fresh breeze hits her she gasps. She collapses on the front lawn, crawling on her hands and knees and coughing for air and she hears someone shouting her name but she can’t hear who, she can’t think, she can’t speak…

“They killed him…they killed him…” 

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

She hears the muffled voices before she feels something soft beneath her body. She finally opens her eyes, blinking rapidly from the light that blurs above her and she frowns, trying to gather herself to see where she is. A face slowly comes into focus and she sees it’s Raven, who’s brushing her hair back gently with a sad smile on her face.

“Hey. Welcome back.” 

“What…what happened?” Clarke asks, slowly sitting up. 

“You had a panic attack and fainted. Gustus carried you back inside.” Raven says, sighing. Clarke looks behind Raven to see Octavia and Finn standing behind her, both of them looking worried, but happy that she’s okay. They’re in a secluded room, and there’s only one bed (which Clarke is lying on) and a bedside table of some sort which Finn is leaning against. Clarke rubs her temples before sighing.

“I’m okay, I just…”

“Lexa filled us in. I’m so sorry, Clarke.” Raven whispers, gripping her best friend’s hand tightly. Clarke shakes her head, her whole body still numb except for pain, which washes over her like a tidal wave. Her father…

“He was all alone…” Raven embraces her immediately, hugging her tightly and Clarke cries into her shoulder, incapable of doing anything else. She feels the bed sink lower as Octavia sits beside her, rubbing her back consolingly and Clarke suddenly feels foolish. She pulls away from Raven and wipes her tears away, shaking her head.

“He’s gone. My dad is gone and…Bellamy isn’t. Bellamy’s still out there.” Octavia shakes her head.

“No, Clarke, this is a big deal, you need time-”

“I’m fine. We need to find Bellamy. Where’s Anya? How long have I been out?” Clarke says, trying to stand, but Octavia makes her sit.

“You were only out for ten minutes, but you need to rest for a little longer.” 

“But-”

“No buts, Clarke. You fainted. You need to rest.” Octavia says. Clarke sighs, but nods as Octavia stands. She lies back down on the bed and Octavia smiles tightly and Clarke can tell she’s worried about her brother.

“I’ll go tell the others you’re awake.” Octavia leaves the room, shutting the door behind her and it slowly starts to dawn on Clarke that Lexa isn’t in the room. She isn’t sure why it matters to her so much, but she finds herself frowning and looking at Raven.

“Where’s Lexa?” Raven raises an eyebrow.

“Out there somewhere, probably. She said she wanted to give you some space. I think she feels bad for telling you about your father.” Clarke shakes her head, already pulling the covers off herself.

“No, no, I have to tell her that I’m not upset-”

“Clarke Griffin, will you stop trying to get out of bed and just rest for god’s sake?” Raven growls, shoving her back down. Clarke bites her lip and looks at Raven.

“Can-can you please, please go get her? I need her to know that I’m glad she told me, I don’t want her to be upset…” 

“I’ll go.” Finn says suddenly, moving away from the bedside table and walking toward the door. Clarke sighs and lies back down on the pillows. Raven grips her hand and sighs.

"I'm sorry about your dad."

"So am I." Clarke whispers. Raven bites her lip and shakes her head.

"How could we not know what was going on out here?" She says hoarsely. Clarke looks at her.

"How could we? We're locked in the university practically 24/7." 

"I know, but...the fact that they're attacking anyone below them in class...the rich buying the poor and killing them? It's-"

"I know." Clarke says, sighing. She can't stop thinking about her father...how he must have died afraid and scared...

There's a knock at the door and Clarke jumps at the sound. 

“Clarke?” The door opens and Lexa’s head pokes out, her eyes on Clarke.

“Finn said you wanted to see me?”

“I’ll leave you two to talk.” Raven says, standing immediately and walking towards the door. Lexa steps inside as Raven walks out, but before she closes the door behind her, she turns.

"Call me if you need me." Clarke nods and she smiles before shutting the door.

“Is everything okay?” Lexa asks, slowly walking toward her. Clarke sighs, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Yeah I just…I wanted to bring you in here to say thank you.” She opens her eyes to see Lexa looking at her in shock.

“What?”

“Thank you. For telling me about my father. I’ve been wondering for so long what happened and…at least now I know.” Clarke says hoarsely, blinking back tears. Lexa bites her lip and steps forward.

“Can I?” She asks, pointing toward the bed. Clarke nods and shuffles over as Lexa sits down at her side. 

“I’m sorry you had to find out this way. I didn’t like the idea of keeping the truth from you. If our situations had been reversed…if it had been Costia…I’d want to know.” Lexa says hollowly, looking down at the ground as her jaw clenches. Clarke nods once before sighing and sinking into the pillows, rubbing her eyes tiredly. 

“Everything just seems ten times more complicated now. It’s not possible that my biggest worry was what punishment I’d get for breaking the rules less than twelve hours ago.” 

“You broke the rules?” Lexa asks, raising an eyebrow in surprise. Clarke rolls her eyes.

“Finn’s idea. I tried to stop him but-wait, what do you mean by that?” Clarke asks, frowning. Lexa chuckles before shrugging.

“You don’t seem the type to break the rules.” Clarke isn’t sure why, but she feels herself blushing as she stutters out a reply.

“I-what-that’s…” Clarke stutters, completely speechless. Lexa laughs openly before shaking her head. 

“I shouldn't say anything, I barely know you.” Clarke nods once in acceptance before she finds herself smiling despite herself. And then, in Clarke fashion, she rambles.

“Alright, well…my favorite color is green. Dark green, forest green, lime green, all different shades of green, doesn’t matter. I love drawing, especially scenery, and I love just shading in different trees with all different kinds of shades of green-”

“What are you doing?” Lexa asks, confused. Clarke shrugs.

“I’m telling you more about me. I mostly draw landscapes that involve some kind of forestation or trees. I hate olives, even though they’re, well…green. I’ve never even tasted them but I hate them. My favorite food is pizza, and pasta.” Lexa’s listening to her intently, and Clarke is amazed by how enraptured she is in what she’s saying, even though all she’s saying is facts about herself. She’s surprised at how nervous she is, but the more she talks, the more she seems to settle, her body relaxing into the bed with each passing minute.  
“…I don’t like seeing people in pain and I always try my best to help everyone. Even strangers.” Clarke lets out a loud breath, as if she’s just gotten a lot off her chest and Lexa smiles softly before frowning thoughtfully.

“I don’t really know what my favorite color is. I’ve never really had the opportunity to sit down and think about it, what with everything going on all the time. I like blue I suppose,” She says, looking up at Clarke’s eyes before clearing her throat. “I’m horrible at drawing. Stick figures is probably the best I can do. I’m indifferent about olives, but I hate mushrooms. My favorite food is pretty much everything, although I tend to stay away from fatty foods.” Clarke can’t help but laugh loudly at that and Lexa looks at her with a surprised grin.

“What?”

“Of course you stay away from fatty foods, how else could you look like that?” Clarke says, poking at the muscles on her arms. Lexa shrugs. Clarke laughs even more and she isn’t even sure why she’s laughing but Lexa laughs with her and it's such a relief. To be away from all the pain and the chaos...to just have a happy moment. 

But their laughter is quickly cut off by a knock on the door and Octavia pokes her head in. 

“Anya wants to see you.” She says, looking at Lexa. Lexa sighs before standing and Octavia looks at Clarke.

“You too.” Clarke looks at her in confusion.

“She’s teaching us how to shoot before we go.” Octavia says simply. Clarke exchanges a glance with Lexa before slowly sitting up and moving off the bed. She follows Lexa out of the room and they both follow Octavia outside. Anya has Raven and Finn standing beside each other with a gun in each of their hands. They’re aiming at a bunch of cans sitting on the fence, and Finn shoots one off the ledge.

“Good.” Anya calls out to him. Finn grins toward Raven, who smiles at him. Octavia walks straight toward Lincoln, who holds out a gun to her. Clarke looks up and down the street to see it empty of anyone.

“Why is it so empty here? In the City it was crazy.” Clarke says, swallowing the lump in her throat as she remembers the screams she heard while they drove here.

“Because the City is the best place to find victims. It’s always populated with people.” Lexa says, her jaw clenching. Clarke doesn’t reply because she honestly has no words for the disgust she feels. Anya walks over to them. 

“Teach her the basics. We’re leaving soon.” She says to Lexa. Lexa nods once and Anya walks back toward Raven and Finn, telling Raven to straighten her arms more.

“Alright.” Lexa pulls her gun out from her belt and leads Clarke over to a different part of the fence where there’s more cans. 

“Right handed or left handed?” She asks.

“Left.” Clarke says. 

“Grip the gun tightly, like this.” Lexa grabs Clarke’s left hand and lays the gun in it before curling her other hand around the grip. Clarke lifts the gun up and Lexa nods.

“Good. Straighten your arms a little more, but don’t extend them too much.” Clarke bends her elbows slightly and Lexa adjusts them a bit before nodding again.

“There. It gives you a better grip on the gun and gives you more range to turn your weapon either way. Alright, the main thing to know with shooting is that the gun is going to kick back. So you can’t freak out and drop the gun when it does. Just keep your grip on it as firm as possible.” Clarke nods once, and she can feel her heart beginning to race. She’s never shot a gun before…

“Aim for the can on the left.” Clarke squints her eyes, trying to get the cans in focus, but they seem blurry to her.

“I…look my eyesight is terrible, I can barely see the cans.” Clarke says, dropping her hands to her sides. Lexa chuckles.

“It’s from all that drawing you do.” She teases. Clarke can’t help but smile as Lexa moves her closer to the cans.

“Better?” She asks. Clarke sighs and lifts the gun again, staring at the cans.

“Yeah, a bit. I think I can focus on the left can.” Clarke looks at it and it slowly comes in and out of focus constantly as she squints.

“You need glasses.” Lexa says. Clarke rolls her eyes.

“Yeah, I’ll go buy some from the glasses store-oh wait! We’re in the middle of the Purge, completely forgot.” She says sarcastically. Lexa raises an eyebrow at her before shaking her head.

“Breathe in…a deep one. And then, as you’re exhaling, squeeze the trigger.” Clarke looks at her and she nods encouragingly. Clarke takes a deep breath in and focuses on the can, aiming the gun at it before exhaling and squeezing the trigger.

The can on the left falls off the fence and Clarke holds the gun tighter as it kicks back.

“Whoa.” She whispers, her heart racing. Lexa nods, impressed.

“Nice job.” 

“Thanks.” Clarke aims at the next can and does the same thing, breathing in deeply and squeezing the trigger as she exhales. It wobbles before falling down as well. Clarke grins.

“Looks like I’m good at this.” Lexa smiles slightly before it fades.

“Yeah…” Clarke’s grin fades as she takes in Lexa’s expression and realizes that being good at shooting isn’t exactly something to celebrate in this society.

“Is she ready?” Anya calls. Lexa turns to Anya and nods and Anya looks at everyone around the front yard.

“Alright. Everyone gather your supplies. We’re leaving.” She calls out. Lexa looks at Clarke, who hands her back her gun.

“Come.” Lexa leads her over to Gustus, who looks up at their approach.

“She needs a gun.” Lexa says, nodding toward Clarke. Gustus nods once and reaches into a bag he’s carrying. He pulls out a small handgun and holds it out to her.

“Small. But strong. Like you.” He says, smiling. Clarke smiles as she takes the gun from him and he hands her an extra magazine. Clarke tucks it into her pocket, taking a few deep breaths in.

She might kill someone tonight…

It doesn’t bring up the same nauseating feeling as before…these people killed her father. Bought him and murdered him in cold blood. She’s surprised at the anger she feels, but she embraces it. They deserve to die…

“Let’s move out!” Anya yells. Clarke watches as Indra and Nyko stand at the door, watching them leave.

“They’re not coming with us?” Clarke asks, walking beside Lexa towards the armored truck. Lexa shakes her head.

“It’s only us, Anya, Lincoln, Gustus, and 2 other soldiers.” Clarke bites her lip as Lincoln opens the passenger door. Lexa goes straight to the two seats at the back and Clarke follows her, sitting down beside her and clipping her seat-belt on. Raven, Octavia and Finn sit in the row of seats in front of them.

“This is familiar.” Finn says, although there’s a sadness in his eyes now. Clarke puts a hand on his shoulder.

“We’re going to be okay.” He turns to look at her and smiles warmly, gripping her hand on his shoulder gently. Anya suddenly appears at the passenger door and looks at them grimly.

“I know this is scary for you…and taking a life is never easy. But if you find yourself in a position where your life is at risk, there is no other option. Just try to remember that these people want nothing more than to kill anyone they lay their hands on. They’re monsters. And the only way to save lives is to stop them.” Octavia’s jaw clenches as she nods, and Finn and Raven simply grip each other’s hands. Clarke nods numbly and Anya simply nods curtly at them before disappearing. Lexa looks down at the watch on her wrist and sighs.

“Almost 11.” Clarke nods and rests back against the seat.

“8 hours to go.” She whispers.


	4. Chapter 4

The second they enter the City, it’s chaos. 

Clarke is so surprised at how quickly everything has escalated in the span of a few hours. Some buildings are on fire, and there’s raucous cheers and laughter mixing with the screams that echo all around them. Clarke couldn’t even attempt to block it out if she tried. She looks out of the small window to her right and sees a group of people chasing a man and a woman, both of whom look terrified as the man holds his hand out for the woman to take behind him. She grabs onto it, tears staining her cheeks and Clarke notices she’s limping, blood pouring down her left leg.

_They won’t make it._

“Lexa!” She turns to look beside her and sees Lexa looking at her in shock before her expression turns stony, her eyes looking past Clarke to see what she’s staring at. 

“Gustus!” Gustus looks to Lexa, who points out of the window. He growls under his breath.

“Heda! To your right!” Anya looks behind her at Gustus before looking to where he’s pointing. A look of unbelievable fury takes her over and she nods once at him. Gustus grabs the machine gun lying across his lap and suddenly stands in his seat. He slides a panel that Clarke didn’t notice was on the roof before. He pops up, the sound of his hands hitting the roof of the car before there’s suddenly incredibly loud gunfire. 

Clarke watches as the people chasing the man and woman fall to the ground, blood splattering on the wall behind them. One of them looks to Gustus and takes aim before Gustus shoots him right between the eyes, blood and what looks like brain matter spattering the wall behind him before he collapses. Clarke feels bile rise to her throat. The man and woman being chased stop in their tracks and look up, and they look at Gustus, clutching each other tightly as if worried he’ll attack them next. Anya grabs a walkie talkie from the dashboard and barks into it. 

“Penn! Pick them up!” Clarke looks behind them to see Penn stop the truck he’s driving behind them and someone jumps out of the passenger side, his gun raised and scanning the area before he reaches the two people. Clarke doesn’t hear what is said, but the man nods quickly and grabs his sister’s hand, helping her run toward the truck. As they pass Anya’s truck, Clarke notices they actually don’t look that much older than her, and her heart squeezes.

They almost died…but she saved them.

Lincoln suddenly turns the truck sharply and as they round the corner, Clarke loses sight of them.

“Penn, see if you can find any more survivors.” Anya says into the walkie talkie. He replies, but Clarke can barely hear it over more gunfire somewhere near them. Clarke bites her lip and notices Octavia, Finn and Raven all look beyond worried, taking in the craziness surrounding them. Clarke simply leans back in her seat and closes her eyes, blocking out the noise around her. Despite all of the horror around her, she can’t help but feel good that she saved those two people. She hopes they make it to Indra’s safe house without any more harm coming to them. 

_How lucky can I possibly be that Lexa’s the one who saved me from that man tonight?_

If it hadn’t been for Lexa, who knows where she’d be right now? Probably dead. Most likely dead.

Definitely dead.

She feels something touch her hand suddenly and she opens her eyes to see Lexa looking at her sadly.

“You okay?” Clarke simply nods once, closing her eyes again.

“Turn here.” Anya says. Clarke feels the truck turn and she opens her eyes to see them driving down a different street completely, the burning buildings fading behind them. Lexa suddenly frowns, her eyes roaming the window and what lies beyond it.

“What’s wrong?” Clarke asks. Lexa looks at her.

“It’s too quiet.” She says. Clarke looks outside the small window beside her and notices that there’s no signs of life in the street they’ve turned into, but they are still in the City. 

The truck comes to a sudden halt.

“It’s too quiet here, Anya.” Lincoln says, his voice almost echoing throughout the truck that’s so silent, it’s almost deafening. Clarke sits up in her seat to see Anya exchange a look of worry with Lincoln before looking out the front window and Clarke notices the street is pitch black, all the lights out. She exchanges glances with the others, who look at her.

“What’s going on?” Finn asks her. Lexa frowns, looking out of the window beside her.

“Turn around.” Anya says suddenly. They all turn to face her as Lincoln looks at her in shock.

“What, why?” She brings the walkie talkie to her mouth.

“Penn, get your survivors to Indra’s safe house now!” She screams. She drops the walkie talkie and leans across the steering wheel to flick the truck’s lights on. Clarke sees what looks like a tank in front of them and she grabs Lexa’s hand, a scream beginning to build in her throat. There’s a bang like a bomb going off and the truck seems to rattle before it’s suddenly is lifted into the air. There’s a sharp pain at the back of her head and everything goes dark.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Her ears are ringing.

She can barely hear anything except what sounds like muffled shouting and ringing. She slowly opens her eyes and her vision is blurred momentarily until she realizes she’s being dragged along the road by someone, her skin scraping against the gravel concrete of the road. She blinks rapidly and sees the outline of the truck in front of her. It’s flipped onto its back, some of the armor from it completely blown off from the explosion. 

“Clarke?” She says hoarsely, and she’s suddenly not being dragged anymore. All she can see is the stars above her before she sees someone from her periphery. The second she sees boots she doesn’t recognize, she pulls out the knife at her belt and strikes out. She feels the knife cut through the flesh of the person’s calf before she lets it go. There’s a yell of pain before the person drops to their knees and Lexa’s eyes finally focus. 

He’s not someone she knows, and he’s already reaching for the gun in his belt, his eyes blazed with fury before Lexa reaches behind her back and pulls out her gun. He’s too late: she shoots him in the head point blank. He falls to the ground and Lexa slowly gets up. The second she applies pressure to her left arm, her shoulder begins burning like fire and she immediately lifts it, clutching it to her chest in pain.

_Dislocated._

She grits her teeth and uses her legs instead to push herself up. Her whole body is shaking and she wants to simply curl up and cry, but she refuses. She blinks something hot and wet out of her eyes and it takes a second for her to register that it’s blood. She ignores it and looks around.

It’s chaos. Bins and cars are on fire and there’s guns going off and shouting as people seem to run past her, some of them her people, some of them complete strangers. Lexa stands and grips her gun tighter with her uninjured arm, looking around frantically before she finally spots her. Anya’s back is to her, but she’s on her knees in the middle of the street, a gun pointed at her head and Lexa doesn’t hesitate in pointing her gun and shooting the guy pointing the gun at Anya right in the back of the head. He collapses and Anya turns.

“LEXA!” She stands and runs toward her, but she’s tackled by another person to the ground. Lexa runs toward her, planning on killing anyone who even lays a hand on Anya, but she’s shoved back and practically pinned to the flipped over truck by someone else. Her arm flares in pain when it makes contact with the metal of the truck and she cries out before turning. She struggles, not even able to see who it is she’s shooting before her gun is aimed against what feels like their stomach and she pulls the trigger. 

They collapse to the ground and Lexa notices it’s a middle aged man, who holds his hands up in surrender before she aims for his head and pulls the trigger once more. She doesn’t even bother to watch him fall before she looks back toward where she last saw Anya, but she’s nowhere to be seen. Lexa notices Lincoln fighting a man on the sidewalk and he slashes his neck with the machete he’s holding before shouting Octavia’s name, looking around frantically. Lexa looks around for any sign of a blonde mane of hair, whether it be Anya’s or-

“CLARKE!” 

She’s unconscious just before the sidewalk, lying on her stomach. Lexa growls under her breath and forces herself to push through the pain as she runs toward her, her heart racing as she tucks her gun into her belt behind her back. She grits her teeth, each step jostling her injured arm. The closer she gets, the more she feels helpless as she stares at Clarke’s unconscious body and Lexa feels tears building in her eyes that burn when they fall down her face.

There’s a cut on the bridge of Clarke’s nose and a cut beneath her left eye but other than that, she looks relatively unharmed. Lexa bends down and touches Clarke’s face gently before attempting to pick her up with her uninjured arm. She grunts in pain as she drapes Clarke’s arm over her neck and lifts her with her uninjured arm. Lexa feels tears flood her eyes once more from the pain, but she drags Clarke along, desperate to get her somewhere safe. 

“Lexa?” She barely hears Clarke whisper her name, it’s so faint over all the screaming and gunfire.

“It’s okay. I’m going to get you out of here.” She breathes, gritting her teeth and moving faster. She only has one goal right now: get Clarke somewhere safe. Then she can worry about Anya and everyone else.

They’re almost at the alleyway Lexa’s aiming for when she feels someone grab her from behind and suddenly, Clarke is ripped away from her. 

“CLARKE!” She kicks her leg out instinctively and feels it make impact with someone’s knee. She feels the snap of bone before she hears it and the arms around her body relinquish her. She turns frantically to see the guy who grabbed her on the ground, his face contorted in pain. She punches him the face and he falls to the ground, unconscious. Her hand throbs, but she ignores it and reaches for her gun when someone grips her wrist and twists it tightly. She shouts out in pain and the gun falls from her hands.

“Grab it!” The guy behind her shouts as he wraps his arms around her from behind. She struggles and turns toward the wall before jumping up and pushing her feet against it to propel herself backwards. The momentum causes them both to fall to the ground, Lexa landing on the guy behind her and she growls as her arm burns. His hold slackens momentarily and she uses it to grab his arm and swing around until his arm is beneath her body. 

Holding his arm between her legs, she pulls his arm down while moving her hips upward. There’s a sickening crack and he screams in pain loudly, his whole body writhing beneath her and Lexa knows she’s dislocated his elbow. She keeps going, intent on breaking his arm to pieces when a boot connects with the side of her face. Everything turns white for a brief moment and she groans as someone picks her up as easily as if she were a child and wraps his arms around her body. He’s big, she can tell that much, and she struggles against him, fighting against the pain in her head from the boot, but he tightens his hold and she lets out a whimper from the burning in her arm. She looks around desperately to see Clarke is draped over someone’s shoulder ahead of her and the person carrying Lexa carries her, kicking and screaming, after him. 

“ANYA!” Lexa screams as loud as she can, but it’s no use. The gunfire and shouts and screams and explosions are too loud, and her head is pounding. She tries to fight but her arm is already protesting in pain from the man holding her and every tiny movement is causing her pain. The gunfire starts to cease slightly and Lexa hears someone shout.  
“Kill everyone else!” The gunfire kicks up again and Lexa hears screaming.

“LINCOLN!” Lexa’s heart drops because she knows that voice from anywhere.

_Anya._

Lexa fights against the guy holding her, the pain in her head forgotten, but her arm stops her, and he has to be at least 200 pounds of muscle from how tightly he has a hold on her. She can barely breathe and she can feel herself beginning to panic as a gigantic truck comes into view, manned soldiers standing around it. Someone opens the back entrance roller door, sliding it upwards. More people with guns are inside and they hold the door open as the man holding Clarke throws her inside. Lexa can hear the way her body makes contact with the ground of the truck and she growls under her breath, anger boiling through her.

“I’m gonna fucking kill you!” She screams.

“Shut up and get in!” The guy holding Lexa shouts in her ear, and Lexa shoves against him before he suddenly drops her and punches her in the back of her head. She fall down on her knees, the world spinning before he grabs her once more like a ragdoll and tosses her into the truck. She lands on her left shoulder. She bites her lip so hard, she draws blood, but she refuses to let them hear her scream. 

_Fuck this._

Regardless of the pain, she stands and turns back to fight them, but one of the men inside the truck suddenly aims a Taser gun at her and pulls. Next thing she knows, she’s on the floor, pain worse than the one in her shoulder coursing through her body as she twitches and shouts from the volts of electricity pulsing through her body. 

“LEXA!” Eventually, the pain ceases and Lexa lies there, completely winded, her eyes watering with pain as she gasps for air. Her whole body is twitching uncontrollably and she sees the blurred outline of someone above her. She feels the two rods from the Taser get pulled out from her leg and she grunts at the pain.

“Try anything like that again, and we’ll Taser you again.” The guy growls. Lexa’s eyes adjust and she sees Clarke above her, looking down at her with worry, but wincing in pain at the same time. She sits up, still twitching from the electricity and Clarke puts an arm around her as one guy turns his attention back to the door, holding it up to stop it from sliding down again, the other with his gun trained on Lexa. 

“Are you okay?” Clarke asks her softly.

“Are y-you?” Lexa stutters out, twitching again. Clarke nods slowly, clutching her head.

“I think I hit my head, but I’m alright.” She says gently. Both of them jump and turn at the sound of shouting.

“LINCOLN! LINCOLN!” Lexa looks outside the truck to see the same man who dragged her here dragging Octavia into the truck, and despite her best efforts to fight him off, she’s simply no match for him. He shoves her inside and behind her, Raven is also attempting to fight back. She’s practically thrown into the truck by her hair and Finn roars before shoving the guy holding him off. His hand flies back before flying forward and there’s another sickening crunch as his fist makes contact with the guy who threw Raven.

Lexa tries to stand to help him, but the man pointing his gun at her shouts out and she goes back down on her knees, her hands raised in surrender, but fury blazing through her. Finn is grabbed by two guys and punched in the face before he’s thrown in as well. The door is rolled shut quickly before Raven, Finn and Octavia can even stand. The two guys guarding the entrance point their guns at them.

“SIT THE FUCK DOWN, NOW.” They roar. Raven and Finn raise their hands and sit down slowly, and Lexa sees Finn’s lip is cut and already bruising, but the glare he’s giving the guards screams murder. Octavia glares at them before her bottom lip begins trembling and she collapses to the ground. 

“Lincoln…” She whispers. Finn reaches for her and embraces her tightly, whispering words of comfort and Raven looks at Lexa and Clarke. Lexa sees her eye is already bruising and swelling up, but her face lights up when she sees Clarke. 

“Thank god you’re alright.” She says, reaching for Clarke and hugging her tightly.

“Lincoln…” Lexa says. Raven sighs again, letting go of Clarke and looking at Lexa sadly.

“Octavia says she thinks she saw him get shot.” She says softly. Lexa’s heart drops.

_Not Lincoln, anyone but Lincoln…_

She looks behind her to distract herself. The truck is massive, and there’s about five other people in here with them. Most of them are huddled in the corner, and it dawns on Lexa that this was a group of friends. They all look terrified beyond belief, but they’re clutching each other and Lexa looks to the right of them to see a young man on his own, his brown hair unkempt and incredibly messy. He looks up at her as if he can feel her eyes on him and Lexa notices that despite his wild appearance, his brown eyes are kind and gentle. She reminds him of Gustus.

Gustus. Someone else who might’ve died just now. 

The young man suddenly stands and walks toward them. As his face comes more into the light, Lexa sees he has a large gash on his head and his clothes are ripped and bloody. His eyes are on Octavia, and the look on his face is of complete shock.

“Octavia?” He whispers. The truck suddenly roars to life and moves forward and the young man falls forward onto his hands and knees. Octavia, who pulled away from Finn at the sound of her name, suddenly crawls forward toward the young man, tears falling down her face as she looks at him in awe.

“Bellamy?” She whispers. She reaches out and touches his face gently, her fingers making contact with his cheek, and he’s still looking at her in shock before she suddenly screams and hugs him tightly, her arms wrapping around his neck as they both fall to the ground.

“BELLAMY, OH THANK GOD!” She screams, half-laughing, half-crying with joy. Bellamy hugs her close and sits them both up, his face digging into her shoulder before he suddenly pulls away.

“What are you doing out here!?” He demands, gripping her shoulders tightly, a look of fear on his face.

“I heard the crash on the phone, I had to see if you were okay-” He glares at her before bringing her close and hugging her tightly again.

“That was stupid! So stupid!” He cries, burying his head into her shoulder. She kisses his temple before resting her head against his neck. 

“I’m so glad you’re okay.” She whispers into his chest. Lexa notices the two men guarding the entrance staring at them, both of them holding their guns tightly and Lexa glares at them.

“They’re not hurting anyone.” She says to them angrily.

“Shut up.” The man growls at her. 

“Let’s move toward the back.” Bellamy says, letting go of Octavia and glaring at the two men. They all follow him towards the back of the truck, practically crawling as they can’t stand due to the truck’s movement. They all sit down and Bellamy looks at Clarke, his eyes instantly lighting up. He moves toward her, hugging her next with a grin on his face.

“Thank god you’re okay.” Clarke says, wrapping her arms around him.

“When I woke up in the truck, you were unconscious beside me. I tried to get you out, but they ambushed me. Pulled me out of the truck and beat me up.” Bellamy says, pulling away from her. Her eyes widen.

“I think I remember that.” She whispers. Bellamy sighs.

“They tried to get you out, too, but they said you were stuck so they left you. Are you okay?” He asks. Clarke nods.

“I’m alright, it’s just my leg…I’m okay.” Bellamy looks down at her injury before looking around the truck.

“I’ve been in here the whole night, watching them bring people in.” He says, his eyes shrouded in despair and sadness. Lexa looks at the other people in the truck, who are all silent, most of them with empty looks in their eyes. Lexa feels like joining them in their despair, because she knows what’s happening next.

Clarke turns to look at Lexa as Bellamy shuffles forward to reunite with Raven and Finn.

“Anya…” She whispers. Lexa feels tears flood her eyes and she shakes her head.

“I don’t know.” She has no doubt in her mind that Anya is dead, but she holds onto that tiny, tiny shred of hope that Anya and Lincoln and everyone may have gotten out alive. It’s the tiniest shred she’s ever felt, but she’ll hold onto it because she has to. Anya can’t be dead. 

_I can’t lose anyone else._

Clarke rushes forward, her arms wrapping around Lexa tightly and Lexa hugs her back, needing the comfort, needing just something to get her through this. Her hand touches the back of Clarke’s head and she feels an egg shaped lump just as Clarke gasps in pain.

“You hit your head…” Lexa says, letting go of Clarke and looking at her.

“I’m alright.” Clarke says, reaching for the lump and wincing. Her eyes move to Lexa’s forehead and she touches it, her fingers gentle.

“You’re bleeding.” Clarke whispers. Lexa goes to grip her wrist with her left hand when her shoulder flares in pain and she gasps, clutching it. Clarke’s eyes go wide and she reaches for her.

“Here.” Lexa grits her teeth and nods before shuffling closer toward her and Clarke grips her left arm. Lexa hisses in pain and Clarke’s fingers search her shoulder before she nods.

“I feel it. I can pop it back in.”

“Do it.” Lexa hisses.

“On three. One-” She pulls and Lexa swears loudly despite herself. The pain ebbs into a dull throbbing and she lets out a deep breath. It’s manageable, and much less painful then before.

“That wasn’t three.” She growls, glaring at Clarke and clutching her shoulder.

“It’s worse if you see it coming.” Clarke says. Lexa sighs as Clarke suddenly reaches into her pocket and pulls out a rag. She stares at her and Clarke grimaces sheepishly.

“I kind of stole it from the dining table and Indra's safe house, you know…just in case my leg needed it.” Lexa shakes her head.

“Then keep it.”

“No, that head wound is bad. Now come here.” Lexa sighs and she’s slowly beginning to learn that arguing with Clarke will get her nowhere. She shuffles forward and Clarke staunches the blood easily with the rag. Bellamy looks at Lexa as he moves away from Finn and Raven, then crawls toward her.

“I’m Bellamy.” He says softly.

“Lexa.” She says, holding out her hand. He takes it with a smile. 

“Where are they taking us?” Octavia asks suddenly. Lexa looks at her sadly, not wanting to tell her but Clarke reads the expression on her face and speaks up, her hand dropping from Lexa’s head where she’s holding the rag up.

“This is Cage’s group, isn’t it?” She whispers. Lexa looks at her and wishes she could lie…wishes she could tell Clarke that everything would be okay, but she simply can’t. She can’t bring it in herself to lie to Clarke. So she nods once and Clarke’s eyes simply go blank before her whole body begins shaking. She lets out a choked sob, gazing down at the ground. Lexa immediately rushes toward her, reaching for her hand.

“We’re going to get out of this.” Lexa whispers, even though she has no idea how they could possibly get out of this situation. She looks toward Finn and Raven, who are both looking at her like they can’t believe what she’s saying and Octavia curses under her breath, tears immediately falling down her cheeks.

“Who’s Cage?” Bellamy asks, confusion written all over his face. Octavia sniffs and wipes her tears away before taking his hand in hers.

“I’ll tell you everything. Come on.” They shuffle toward the side of the truck for privacy, both of them leaning their backs against the side before they put their heads together and Octavia begins talking in a hushed tone. Lexa looks toward Raven and Finn, whose heads are also close together, Finn comforting a clearly upset Raven. 

Clarke sniffs before shaking her head lightly and wrapping one hand around the back of Lexa’s neck. She lifts the rag and presses it tightly against the wound on her forehead. Lexa winces, but looks up at her. Her entire vision is obscured by Clarke’s hair, which has fallen in front of her shoulders and is matted in blood. Clarke’s neck is tight and Lexa is so close, she can see Clarke’s carotid artery beating against her slender neck. Lexa looks up to see Clarke biting down on her bottom lip, tears still falling down her cheeks. 

“Clarke…”

“We have to stop it from bleeding.” She says hoarsely. Lexa reaches up to grip her wrist. 

“It’s okay.” She whispers. Clarke’s whole body seems to convulse before she sobs openly and her hand drops as if all the energy she has is depleted. She leans forward, burying her head into Lexa’s shoulder. Lexa leans back and drags her lightly with her, leaning back against the other side of the truck with a sigh. 

“I’m not going to let them hurt you, Clarke.” She whispers fiercely. She doesn’t know where this sudden urge to protect Clarke at all costs has come from. Perhaps because she’s about 99 percent sure that Anya is dead and Clarke has now become the only person she cares about.

She’s lost so many people…her parents, Costia, now Anya…she had wondered before when it would end, but it’s becoming clearer and clearer now that it never ends. It will never end.

But she’s not losing Clarke. Not tonight.

“I’m not losing you, too.” She adds with a whisper. Clarke suddenly grips her hands in her own tightly, burying her head into Lexa’s shoulder even more. Lexa rests the side of her cheek on top of Clarke’s head and closes her eyes, breathing in deeply, trying to calm her racing heart before a conclusion seems to come together in her mind.

_I’m dying tonight. But Clarke isn’t. Not if I can help it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this one is short, but I hope the action makes up for the lack of words.


	5. Chapter 5

She isn’t sure how long they drive for. It feels like at least an hour or two, and Lexa’s been in a kind of unconscious slump the entire time, nothing but grief over Anya and where they’re currently heading flooding her entire system to the point where she’s become numb. 

She doesn’t have confirmation that Anya is dead, but the man had shouted to ‘kill everyone else’ and the last she she’d heard was Anya screaming Lincoln’s name…

It didn’t look or sound good for Anya, basically.

_She can’t be dead, please, she can’t…_

She finally looks at her watch to see it’s almost 1:00 in the morning. She shivers at the cold, and sees her breath come out in mist in front of her as it makes contact with the cold air.

_Please let Anya be alive…_

She knows it’s impossible, but Lexa’s always been one to refuse something until she’s seen it with her own eyes, and she didn’t see Anya die.

_She’s alive…_

Anya was a fighter, she would’ve made it through no matter what. Anya was a fighter, she wasn’t dead…

Clarke seems to unconsciously huddle closer to her because when Lexa looks down, she sees Clarke’s eyes are closed and she’s fast asleep, even though her body is moving closer to her, which Lexa didn’t think was possible considering how close they already are. Lexa looks up to see Octavia huddled up to her brother, who is wide awake, his chin resting on top of his sister’s head. She looks over at Finn and Raven, who is curled up in her boyfriend’s lap, her eyes wide while Finn brushes her hair back gently. He looks at Lexa and smiles sadly, which Lexa returns half-heartedly. 

Lexa is contemplating whether to wake Clarke or not when she suddenly lifts her head up from Lexa’s shoulder slowly, blinking rapidly and looking around in confusion.

“I feel asleep?” She croaks, looking at Lexa with squinted eyes.

“Yeah…” Lexa whispers back. Clarke looks at her for a few seconds before huddling so close to her, she’s practically sitting in Lexa’s lap and Lexa feels her heart drop slightly.

“It’s cold.” She whines.

“I know.” Lexa sighs before beginning to remove her jacket.

“Don’t.” Clarke says, grabbing her wrists to stop her. Lexa blinks at her.

“You’re cold.” 

“So are you. I’m okay.” Clarke says, smiling, but Lexa rolls her eyes and still shrugs her jacket off. She leans back against the truck and wraps the jacket around Clarke, who sighs before slipping into it.

“It smells like you.” She says softly, and Lexa smiles tiredly at her.

“It’ll smell like you in a second, give it time.” Clarke chuckles and huddles close to Lexa once more. Lexa simply wraps her arms around her gently, and she wonders if Clarke can hear how fast her heart is beating against her chest right now.

“Lexa?” Clarke whispers gently.

“Yeah?” 

“Earlier when you said…you said you weren’t going to lose me as well…” Lexa mouth suddenly becomes very dry and she’s positive Clarke can hear how fast her heart is beating now, because Clarke looks up at her with a raised eyebrow before her expression turns soft.

“I know it’s crazy cause we only just met, but…I don’t want to lose you, either.” She whispers. Lexa stares at her for a few moments and Clarke licks her lips as her eyes go from one of Lexa’s to the other before going to down to her lips. 

“Not so crazy…we’ve kind of been bonding through this whole ‘we’re gonna die’ thing, right?” Lexa says, chuckling nervously and trying her best to ignore how Clarke seems to kind of be inching closer every second-

The truck jerks to a halt and Lexa looks up to see the two men guarding the entrance to the truck suddenly roll the door upwards and point their guns at everyone inside.

“Alright, rise and shine, get up!” One of them roars, pounding against the side of the truck. Clarke grips Lexa’s hand tightly, her whole body language changing as the other five people in a group beside them begin moving forward, all of them with terrified looks on their faces. Clarke and Lexa stand at the same time, their hands still intertwined. Bellamy stands, but pushes Octavia behind him, his jaw clenching repeatedly in anger. Finn does the same with Raven and Lexa honestly feels like doing the same with Clarke, but Clarke’s already beaten her to the punch, her back practically pressed against Lexa’s chest protectively. Everyone seems to file out slowly and Bellamy moves toward Clarke.

“What’s the plan?” He whispers.

“Attack?” Finn says, looking back at them. Bellamy nods once as they move closer to the front. 

“On my count.” Bellamy says. Lexa curls her hand into a fist and prepares herself. She needs to get Clarke and the others out of here no matter what…

“One.” Octavia grips Bellamy’s hand tightly, her jaw clenching in anticipation. Clarke lets out a deep breath.

“Two-”

Finn’s the first to reach the front and his whole body begins to move forward into a giant leap of attack when one of the men standing outside the truck grabs his leg and pulls. He falls back and bowls over Raven, who cries out, and Bellamy jumps from the truck with a yell and dives toward the man who tripped Finn. Clarke shoves Lexa back protectively and Lexa can’t see anything as Bellamy suddenly starts yelling in pain.

“BELLAMY!” Lexa stands just in time to see that Octavia’s the next to jump, but it isn’t long before she starts screaming as well, her body disappearing from view beneath the truck. Lexa moves to the side just as one of the men turns and aims his Taser gun at Clarke, who is rushing forward to attack as well. Lexa growls and grabs Clarke’s arm, throwing her behind her before running forward and jumping. She sees the shock on his face two seconds before she kicks him square in the chest. She falls on her back on the concrete ground and it flares in pain, but she ignores it and uses her arms to propel herself up. But as soon as she’s standing, she feels something sharp hit her stomach and the wave of pain that hits her cripples her. She’s on the floor, screaming, god knows how many volts of electricity coursing through her.

“STOP, STOP!” The pain ends and Lexa feels tears fall from her eyes into her hair as someone grabs her and forces her up onto her knees. She looks up with blurred vision to see a man pointing a Taser gun at Clarke, who is looking at Lexa with worry. 

“DON’T TRY ANYTHING!” The man shouts at Clarke. Clarke clenches her fist before letting it go and raising her hands. Lexa lets out a sigh of relief, wincing at the pain that’s currently keeping her from even moving as the men wave Clarke forward. She takes two tentative steps before they shove her down to the ground beside Lexa. She sees Bellamy and Octavia both pull Taser rods out of their legs, glaring up at the men as they get on their knees, hands raised. Lexa looks up to see they’re in a warehouse of sorts, with boxes upon boxes and trucks upon trucks all over the entire place before her hands are pulled behind her back and zip-tied. A black bag is put over her head and she’s plunged into darkness. 

She’s dragged up to her feet and pushed along, each step causing her pain and she hears the others being poked and prodded to follow as well. Lexa feels her heart racing so fast, she’s surprised she isn’t dead from a heart attack. She has no idea how to get out of this situation, and the only thought running through her mind is that she has to protect Clarke and the others no matter what. 

But she has no ideas. No grand escape plan. There’s people with guns everywhere and she can’t exactly magic her way out this. No rabbit’s hat to escape out of.

She’s so fucked. They’re all fucked.

They walk for almost ten minutes before she’s brought to a stop.

“On your knees.” Someone growls. Lexa does as she’s told, not wanting her stupidity of attacking to get anyone hurt and the bag is removed from her head. A gag is almost immediately tied around her mouth tightly. 

“What took you so long?” Someone hisses behind her. She hears someone sigh behind her ear.

“This lot was tough to subdue, alright? I know we’re supposed to leave the tough ones for last, but there was no way we could with this lot! That’s why we brought ‘em here straight away, they kept trying to escape. Better to just get rid of ‘em now. Clyde left to round up some more.” Someone simply growls in frustration and she hears footsteps. It’s still pitch dark in front of her, but she looks beside her to see the outlines of everyone else. She has no idea which one is which, but she knows it’s her friends. They’re in a line on their knees, and Lexa knows what’s coming next. 

Lights suddenly flash and blind them and Lexa blinks rapidly as her vision comes into focus, the white fading into the background as everyone before her comes into view. She sees a bunch of well dressed, heavily bejeweled people sitting at tables in front of her, all of them looking at the people lined in front of them with interest and intrigue, some of them even making sounds of exclamation and smiling and nodding, as if impressed by what they see.

“This’ll be a tough lot to kill!” She hears someone say to her left, and she turns to the see the person who said it is laughing with his entire table.

Her blood boils, and she growls under her breath, wanting to show them just how tough to kill she will be, but no one can hear. They’re all clapping and cheering, apparently satisfied with the new round of potential people they can kill. Lexa looks down the line to see it’s only herself, Clarke, who is right beside her and looking out at the crowd in anger, Raven, Finn, Bellamy and Octavia, all of them with gags on their mouths and all of them looking at the crowd in a mixture of shock and disgust.

The other people that were in the truck aren’t with them. Lexa finds herself wondering if they’ve already been sold off to someone. If they’re already dead…

She sees something move in her peripheral vision and she turns her head to see someone suddenly step up to the stand beside where they are knelt down. Lexa can barely make him out because of how bright the lights are, but she can see he’s wearing a black suit, a bowtie around his neck and his hair is gelled back. He looks like a proper gentlemen, a gigantic smile on his face as he taps the microphone on top of the stand and chuckles as it sounds.

“Alright, ladies and gentlemen, finally! Our next batch is here!” There’s laughter from the crowd, some of them clinking their glasses of wine together and Lexa feels tears of white hot anger threaten to spill from her cheeks. She refuses to let them, refuses to give any indication to these assholes that she’s weak…

“We thank them for their sacrifice on this night, and thank them for giving us their lives so that we may Purge and cleanse ourselves. Blessed be our new Founding Fathers and America, a nation reborn.” The crowd seems to murmur the mantra as well, and Lexa feels like killing everyone in this room because she knows it’ll cleanse her.

“Now, I’ve been informed that this group was in fact a tricky group to get, and that they fought until the very end, so you know you’re going to get a fight with this line! So if you’re looking for some extra fun, this is the group to spend that money on! The bidding will start…” He pauses for a moment, then chuckles. “At $10,000!” Lexa turns to look at Clarke to see her glaring at all the people in front of her. She’s probably wondering which one of these people bought her father, spending thousands of dollars to slaughter him…

“$40!” Someone shouts.

“$40,000, I have $40, 000!” 

“$80!” Lexa tries to drown them out, and instead looks towards her friends. How is she going to get them out of this?

Bellamy has his eyes on Octavia, and Finn is looking at Raven, and both women are looking at the crowd in disbelief and anger. Lexa meets Clarke’s eyes to see her looking at Lexa sadly. Lexa nods once at her, trying to convey that she’s going to do whatever it takes to protect her through one look…

“$100, 000! I have $100,000! Going once! Going twice-”

“250,000!” Someone shouts, and there’s a gasp from the crowd. Lexa tries to see who it is, but the lights practically blind her to almost everyone in the back of the room.

“Wow, $250,000! Doesn’t that make you kids feel special?” The guy at the microphone says, looking down at them with a smile. Lexa looks at him with the utmost loathing look she can muster, wanting to convey that she can rip his throat out with her teeth if she didn’t have this gag around her mouth and the guy’s smile falters before he clears his throat and looks back at the crowd. 

“$250,000! Do I have $300,000?” No one speaks up, apparently their lives aren’t worth THAT much…

The man bangs a gavel against the stand with a grin.

“Sold at $250,000! If the table could make their way toward the chamber, these dashing young kids will be delivered to you in just a moment! Those wishing to watch the event may now enter the theatre rooms.” Lexa can’t see what table has chosen them because of the bright lights, but it’s one in the back for sure. She can hear the distant sound of tables scraping against tiles, can ever hear the words ‘congratulations’ passed on to the people who officially own her now, her life in their hands…

_No one owns me…_

She’s suddenly lifted off her feet and a black bag is put over her head again. She’s dragged along and zig zagged through a dozen corners, nothing but the sound of footsteps echoing around her. For almost fifteen minutes they’re moving until she’s forced on her knees again and the bag and gag are removed. It’s pitch dark wherever they are and her zip ties are cut as she hears the others grunt beside her as they’re forced onto their knees as well.

“Don’t move.” Someone growls in her ear. She hears the sound of a gun cocking and immediately freezes when the barrel pushes against her head. There’s footsteps before a door opens and Lexa sees they’re in another warehouse of some sort with boxes and tins everywhere for half a second as light filters through it before the door shuts again and she’s plunged into darkness once more.

It’s dead silent except for the heavy breathing from all of them. Then-

“Lexa?” Clarke whispers.

“I’m here.” Lexa replies, letting out a sigh of relief at the sound of Clarke’s voice. She hears shuffling before she feels a hand make contact with her left shoulder. She grabs it and Clarke takes a sharp breath in.

“Bellamy? Raven?” She calls out quietly.

“We’re all here, Clarke.” Bellamy says somewhere close to Lexa’s right. 

“We need to get somewhere safe. Now.” Lexa says, her survival instincts already kicking in. She’s getting them out of this alive. 

“We can’t see anything.” Finn says. Just as his sentence finishes, a blue glow appears far ahead of them to the right and they move closer, ducking behind the silhouette of what looks like boxes to see it’s a window where a bunch of people are standing, some of them even sitting and eating meals as they look through the glass, waiting in anticipation for the blood bath. Another blue light turns on to the left and Lexa sees more people standing there, watching them with excitement. Lexa’s blood boils at the sight of them.

“What…” Raven says, looking up at the windows and the people behind them.

“To watch the show.” Lexa says through gritted teeth.

“These people are fucking disgusting.” Octavia growls in disbelief. Lexa looks at her friends, then looks behind them to see a barrier of sorts faintly outlined by the blue glow. Lexa’s years of training with Anya seems to kick in out of nowhere and she nods to herself.

“Link hands, follow me.” Clarke grips Lexa’s hand before reaching for Raven with her other and Lexa leads them forward, rushing toward the barrier as fast as she can. As soon as she reaches it she sits down with her back against it, the metal cool as it makes contact with her back. 

“Stay down.” She whispers to the others. Lexa hears a door open distantly behind her and the barrier and she feels her heart drop.

“Shh.” She says quickly. The others immediately stop murmuring as Lexa hears footsteps echo throughout the large warehouse. Lexa lifts her head up above the barrier slightly and can see only the barest outline of people walking around the room, something that looks like goggles over their eyes before the door swings shut and the warehouse is plunged into darkness once more.

“Night vision goggles. They’re hunting us.” Lexa whispers as quietly as she can to the others. 

“How many are there?” She hears Finn asks.

“I don’t know. I think around 8, probably.” She whispers back.

“Fuck…” He breathes. She can see the outline of Bellamy on her right, his messy mop of hair sticking out like a sore thumb and he grabs her arm, leaning into her ear.

“You and I can take them.” He says. Lexa bites her lip in hesitation.

“We can’t see anything.” She whispers back into his ear. 

“We’ve gotta get the goggles off one of them.” Bellamy says. Lexa contemplates what he’s saying. Doing this puts both hers and his lives at risk…but not doing anything puts ALL their lives at risk, and Lexa refuses to do anything that involves putting all of their lives at risk…especially Clarke. She leans in towards the others.

“Bellamy and I are gonna try and take at least one of them out. Stay here, don’t move.” She whispers. She’s about to step away when something grips her wrist tightly.

“Lexa, no.” Clarke’s voice is desperate, and even though Lexa can’t see her, she knows she’s staring at her anxiously. Lexa reaches out to touch her and when her hand makes contact with Clarke’s cheek, she leans in and kisses her forehead gently.

“Stay safe.” She whispers. Before Clarke can say anything, she reaches for Bellamy, who whispers something to Octavia and kisses her hair before grabbing Lexa’s hand tightly.

“Let’s go.” Before they go more than two steps, Bellamy stops Lexa short.

“If anything happens to me, promise you’ll do everything in your power to get Octavia out of here alive.” He says hollowly. Lexa grips his hand tightly.

“I promise.” Lexa sees the outline of him from the blue glow of both theatres and wishes she could see the expression on his face, but all she sees is him nod once before moving forward again. Lexa follows him, barely able to see anything before there’s the sound of a small collision before Bellamy suddenly stops short, taking in a deep breath.

“Here.” His hand grips Lexa’s again tightly and he pushes her gently forward in front of him. Lexa feels the metal barrier they’re hiding behind, and the cool touch of it makes goosebumps crawl up her back. She ducks down and he stays low beside her. Lexa lifts her head slightly to see over the top of the barrier and sees the blue glow from the theatre rooms illuminate someone a few feet in front of them, what looks like a machine gun raised in his hands.

“I hear you…” He chants softly. Lexa’s heart drops and she drops her head down as she hears Bellamy’s sharp intake of breath behind her. She peeks a glance around the corner of the barrier instead to see the man hunting them is looking in the wrong direction, and is beginning to move toward the barrier where the others are hiding. She reaches out for Bellamy’s hand, her heart dropping before she turns to face him.

“He’s heading toward the others, we’ve gotta lead him toward us.” She whispers to him. They both turn, resting their backs against the barrier at the same time and Bellamy strikes his elbow against the metal barrier as hard as he can. It echoes loudly, almost all over the warehouse and Lexa peeks again to see the guy freeze where he is, his gun still raised before he turns slowly and begins making his way toward the sound: toward them. 

“Got him.” She whispers. She can feel sweat mixing with the dried blood on her face, her heart beating painfully against her chest as she follows the outline of the man right to the front of the barrier, his back to it completely as he scans the area around him. 

Now’s a better time than ever.

She stands as quietly as possible, placing one foot on top of the barrier and then pushing down to propel herself forward on top of the man. Her arms wrap around the man’s neck and he doesn’t have time to shout before she puts him into a sleeper hold, cutting off his air supply as she flexes her muscles tightly. The man immediately aims his machine gun at her face, but Bellamy suddenly jumps over the barrier and grabs him, locking his arm into an arm bar. It pops upwards with a sickening crack and Lexa knows he’s broken the man’s arm. He can’t scream because Lexa’s cutting off his airways, so instead, he lets out a choked gurgle. He lets go of his gun and Bellamy punches him in the stomach four times before the guy drops down to his knees. 

Lexa tightens her hold even more and pulls her arms up to push the man’s neck up as well before quickly pulling his neck to one side sharply. There’s resistance before there’s a sickening crack, and his body goes completely limp. He collapses forward and Lexa falls with him. She rights herself quickly, trying her best not to make noise as a wave of nausea washes over her. She takes a deep breath in and reaches for the goggles on his face. She rips them off and hands them to Bellamy, who puts them on before bending down and looking at the man’s gun.

“Machine gun.” He says. Lexa nods once.

“Take it.” Lexa hears shuffling as Bellamy takes the gun from the man’s side. 

“Lead the way.” She says, holding her hand out. He grabs it and begins walking forward, and Lexa swears the room gets darker, because now, she really cannot see anything, not even the outline of Bellamy walking in front of her. All she can rely on now is the sense of sound, which is working into overdrive because she can literally even hear the sound of Bellamy’s hand tightening around the gun as they get closer to where he’s going. They walk a while longer, Lexa completely trusting Bellamy to lead her when he suddenly stops.  
“Barrier.” He whispers. Lexa reaches out and her hand makes contact with metal. She stays down behind it, sweat really pouring down her face now. She wipes it away quickly and hears Bellamy shift beside her.

“There’s another person around the corner. I can grab him and drag him over here, but the others might hear me.” He whispers to her. Lexa thinks for a moment, trying her best to stay calm.

“We’ll have to risk it, because I can’t see a thing. I need goggles.” She tells him. 

“Okay. I’ll be back in a minute…hopefully.” He’s about to leave but she reaches out frantically to grab him and makes contact with his elbow. He bends down toward her once more and she whispers to him.

“Make sure you get a tight grip around his neck…use the other arm to hold your position tightly.”

“I got it.” He says, a hint of determination in his voice.

“Be careful.” She whispers. She feels him leave her side and she instantly regrets the decision to let him do this on his own. If Bellamy dies because of her…

It isn’t long before she hears the sound of scuffling and a groan sounds out before suddenly a gunshot rings out. Lexa throws caution to the wind, jumping up and reaching out desperately.

“Bellamy?” She hisses.

“Get down!” She doesn’t hesitate. She drops to the ground just as a gunshot rings out and she feels the bullet miss her cheek by an inch. She stays down, her heart officially pounding in her throat as there’s more gunshots before Lexa hears only silence. She waits there, desperate for the sound of anything and she’s about to move when there’s footsteps and the sound of something dragging along the floor. Her heart feels like it’s going to fall out of her throat and she curls her hand into a fist, ready for an attack-

“It’s me.” The sound of his voice makes her let out a whimper of relief as she feels Bellamy bend down beside her. He touches her arm gently.

“Someone saw me. They were aiming at me, but they got the guy I was attacking instead, and I shot them down. I think we’re okay for now. ” He says, and Lexa can hear him fiddling with something before he suddenly reaches out and puts something over her head. She’s about to swat his hand away when she suddenly begins to see everything in a strange green color and then, Bellamy’s face comes into focus.

“Oh. Hi.” She says, adjusting the goggles and smiling at him. He smiles back.

“Hi yourself.” Lexa looks down at the man Bellamy attacked and sees the gunshot wound to his chest. Blood is slowly pooling around his body and when her eyes reach his waist she sees, to her complete and utter shock and surprise, Echo’s gun (well her gun now) is wrapped in the guy’s belt. She takes it and puts it back into her own belt, glad that the bastards didn’t get the magazines from her, which are tucked into her right boot. Lexa looks up at Bellamy, who holds up his machine gun, his jaw clenching.

“I didn’t even hesitate. I just…killed them.” He says hollowly. Lexa grips his shoulder.

“Octavia’s in trouble. You’ll do anything to protect her. There’s nothing wrong with that.” She tells him. Bellamy looks at her for a moment and Lexa wishes she could see his eyes. She can’t tell what he’s feeling just by staring at his face.

Costia had always said it was the eyes that told you everything a person was feeling…

“My sister. My responsibility.” Bellamy breathes. His jaw clenches again before he nods, his hold on his gun tightening.

“Do you think we should take out the rest, or-.” They hear the sound of a door opening to the right of them and both of them immediately duck down and peek over the top of the barrier.

Six men wearing white uniforms with shotguns file through the door the others entered through, and Lexa sees more preparing to enter as the door swings shut.

“Fuck…” Bellamy breathes out, and Lexa closes her eyes in defeat.

“We’re too hard to kill. They’re bringing reinforcements. We need to get back to the others.” Lexa says. Bellamy nods and the both of them make their way back as quietly as possible. She looks up at the people at the window watching from the theatre rooms to see some of them are anxiously watching them cross back to the others, the entertainment value suddenly decreasing because the fight isn’t exactly going their way. Lexa grins up at them maliciously and Bellamy actually lifts his hand and points his middle finger toward them before finding the barrier the others are hiding behind. She finds them all huddled, hugging each other closely, with Finn keeping a protective stance over the girls. His hands are raised in fists though, and Lexa knows he can hear people coming and he’s about to attack if she doesn’t let him know it’s safe.

“It’s us!” Lexa whispers. Clarke jumps in shock, but Octavia immediately reaches for Bellamy and hugs him tightly when she makes contact.

“We heard gunshots!” Finn whispers.

“It was us, don’t worry, we’re okay. We got goggles, and weapons. But they’ve brought in reinforcements. I don’t know how many walked in. Bellamy, you and I should get back out-” 

It happens in less than a second, but it sends a shockwave unlike anything Lexa’s ever felt. The lights suddenly turn on and burn bright, blurring all of their visions and Lexa rips the goggles from her eyes just as bullets spray the barrier they’re hiding behind. She immediately jumps at Clarke and tackles her to the side, protecting her despite her heart falling down to her stomach at the thought that she’s milliseconds away from death before she hears more gunfire that is closer to him which means it must be from Bellamy and then-

Silence.

Complete silence that’s suddenly shattered into tiny pieces by someone screaming.

“FINN!” Lexa lets go of Clarke, her heart dropping as she turns to see Raven holding Finn’s lifeless body in her arms, blood dripping from multiple bullet holes all over his chest to the floor in a pool. Raven is crying in an almost silent hysteria, her whole body shaking and her eyes wide as she cradles him to her chest.

“Okay, okay, it’s okay, you’re okay…” She whispers repeatedly, stroking back his hair gently as she continuously rocks back and forth. Lexa feels all the air leave her lungs at the sight before her, her heart aching as Raven continues repeating ‘it’s okay’ and stroking Finn’s hair back, his body growing paler and colder and Lexa knows Finn can no longer hear his girlfriend. She looks behind them to see the man who killed Finn is dead on the ground by the door. Octavia sobs openly, curling into Bellamy, who hugs his sister tightly, his wide and terrified eyes fixed on his dead friend’s body. Lexa turns to face Clarke, her whole body dreading what she’ll find to see Clarke simply staring at Finn’s body, her whole body heaving in panicked sobs. 

“F-Finn…” She whispers, her bottom lip trembling. She crawls toward Raven, who doesn’t even acknowledge her best friend, all her energy being spent on the dead boyfriend in her arms.

“Come on, Finn, wake up, wake up!” Raven says harshly, shaking his body before burying her head into his chest. She screams loudly, still cradling him to her and rocking back and forth, her face torn in anguish and the sound breaks Lexa apart. She stands, wanting nothing more than to get away from this sadness, to get away from it all-

She hears footsteps and ducks back down behind the barrier as quickly as she can. She looks at Bellamy, who pushes Octavia down but remains standing with his gun pointing forward, his expression conveying that he seems to realize that it’s all over.

Lexa grips her gun. If she’s going to die, she’s going out the way Anya did…in a blaze of gunfire. She looks at Clarke, who looks up at her with tears falling down her cheeks and Lexa wishes she could put into words how sorry she is that she failed her, but the thought itself makes her want to cry.

_One._

She grips the gun, remembering Echo. Remembering Costia. Remembering Anya. Her eyes meet Finn’s lifeless body. They were all about to join them.

_Two-_

The doors behind them burst open and Lexa spins, gun raised, but what she sees causes her to drop her gun altogether. 

Anya is charging through, her face pale but determined with Indra and Gustus on one side and Nyko and Lincoln on the other. More soldiers are lined behind them and they all charge through the door, heading straight towards the battle as Lexa hears gunfire sound around her, but she doesn’t care. Her eyes are on one thing and one thing alone.

Anya is alive. The relief that sweeps through her almost sends her into a panicked euphoria. 

“LEAVE NONE ALIVE!” Anya screams, raising her hand, and a battle cry rings from every single person behind Anya as they rush forward, ignoring the small pack of teenagers hiding behind the barrier as they run past them. Anya comes to a stop in front of Lexa as Indra and everyone else rushes past her towards the battle and she sways slightly before reaching out to Lexa. Lexa grabs her, holding her up and she can see blood everywhere she looks on Anya’s body, staining her clothes. Whether it’s hers or someone else’s, Lexa doesn’t know. Anya smiles at her weakly.

“Takes more than this to bring me down.” She says hoarsely. Lexa hears someone sob and she doesn’t realize it’s herself until she hugs Anya, her whole body shaking as tears fall down her cheeks. 

She hadn’t lost her. She was still here. 

Anya hisses in pain before returning her hug, her chin resting on top of Lexa’s head. Just hearing Anya’s heart beating against her ear makes her sigh in relief.

“How did you find us?” Lexa chokes out.

“Those men who attacked us tried to kill the rest of us, but we managed to stop them. We tortured them until they told us, and I called Indra and told her to gather her soldiers.” Lexa nods once before looking beside her to see Lincoln immediately run to Octavia, who jumps into his arms with a scream. He hisses in pain and she lets him go to see his shoulder is bleeding.

“Oh god…”

“I’m alright, just a bullet wound.” He says, smiling. Bellamy stands and looks Lincoln up and down for a few moments before holding out his hand.

“I’m her brother, Bellamy.” Lincoln looks at him in surprise before taking his hand and pulling him in for an embrace.

“I’m glad you’re safe.” He says, clapping Bellamy’s back. Anya relinquishes her hold on Lexa and looks down at Raven, her eyes going wide when she sees that Raven is still cradling Finn close to her, her expression deadpan and emotionless. Anya bends down beside Finn’s dead body, wincing in pain as she does and Raven watches as Anya lays her hand on Finn’s chest.

“Yu gonplei ste odon.” Anya whispers.

“What…” Raven gasps out, looking up at her. Clarke reaches out and grips her hand.

“It means ‘your fight is over’.” Clarke whispers, her voice cracking, her eyes still on Finn. Raven’s bottom lip trembles as she turns to look at Anya and Lexa thinks she might slap her before she simply bursts into tears, holding Finn to her in anguish.

“No, no…” Anya rests a hand on Raven’s head, the sadness in her eyes clear for everyone to see.

“I’m sorry.” She whispers gently. Lexa knows Anya’s tired, so tired of seeing so many young people die…the gunfire and shouts become background noise to Lexa, all she’s able to take in is the complete anguish on Raven and Clarke’s faces. They weren’t even involved in any of this whatsoever, and now they’d lost one of their friends, one of their loved ones…

It wasn’t fair.

Anya sways once again and Lexa catches her, her heart racing. 

“Anya-”

“I’m alright.” She says hoarsely. Lexa looks at her with worry, afraid that Finn isn’t the only one they’ll lose tonight before Anya’s gaze moves toward the box that the people are watching them through in the theatre rooms, all of them with looks of horror on their faces before they scatter, all of them rushing to get out.

“Everyone in this building dies.” She growls. Lexa grips her gun before looking at Bellamy.

“Stay here, keep them safe.” He nods once and Lexa exchanges a look with Clarke, who looks at her in despair. 

“Lincoln!” Anya says, looking toward him. He kisses Octavia’s forehead.

“Stay with your brother.” He says, his jaw clenching as he pulls the machete strapped to his back free. Anya, Lincoln and Lexa walk forward and Lexa wills herself not to look back because if she sees Clarke, she won’t want to move forward. The gunfire ends and there are bodies in white on the floor, but Indra finally kills the last man in white, his body falling with a scream as she lets out a cry of anger. Everyone looks to Anya expectantly when she approaches, and she looks at Lexa.

“I tried to keep you safe for as long as I could, but no more.” She pulls the long knife at her back free with a wince and holds it out to Lexa, who takes it calmly despite her heart beating erratically. Anya looks around at her people, her face pale and sweaty, but filled with determination as she unsheathes her sword at her hip and pulls her handgun from her belt.

“Lexa. Lead the charge.” She says. Lexa looks at her in shock, but the nod of approval Anya gives her suddenly gives her the drive to stand with her head held high as she looks at the people around her, all of them looking at her expectantly. Only one thing is going through Lexa’s mind right now…

“No one leaves this building alive.” She hisses. Everyone roars in agreement and pounds their feet on the ground before it goes silent again.

“Jus drein, jus daun.” Anya says quietly. She repeats it until everyone begins repeating it after her, and Lexa finds herself shouting it along with everyone else, her blood boiling with anger. Anya nods to her and Lexa charges forward first, Anya right by her side as they enter through the door the reinforcements had gone through. They’re met with immediate enemies and Lexa finds herself hacking and slashing at anyone with a white uniform, blood spattering her body and she finds that even though she’s taking lives, this is the right thing to do.

They killed an innocent young boy tonight. An innocent young man who had never done any harm to anyone. And Finn was just one of many young men who had died in order for these people to purge and “cleanse themselves”. 

No more.

The sight of Finn’s dead body floods her mind and she charges through to the next level with everyone else, raising her knife in the air and as blood drips from it, she roars.

“FOR FINN!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .....I'M SORRY.


	6. Chapter 6

The sounds of gunfire and shouting echo throughout the entire building for over half an hour before everything goes silent. Clarke’s been trying her best to block it all out, but when she does, she think of Finn, so instead she listens to it all, her heart racing and her mind only focusing on Lexa.

_Please let Lexa be okay…_

Her eyes roam over to Raven, who is simply staring off into the distance, Finn’s body still in her lap as she rocks back and forth. Octavia and Bellamy are huddled in the corner of the barrier, Bellamy still cautious as he scans the room for threats. Clarke still has her hand over Raven’s, which is lying on Finn’s chest. She feels numb. Sick and numb because it can’t be true…it can’t be real. Finn can’t be dead…

How is she supposed to keep going? Finn is dead, gone…her mother is probably worried sick back at the university, and Clarke feels like she has no hope of surviving now that one of them is dead.

“Clarke…” She looks up at the sound of her name to see Bellamy looking at her sadly. He opens his mouth to say something more when the gunfire and screams suddenly cease and everything is silent. Octavia and Bellamy look up and around and Clarke feels her heart drop.

“Is it over?” Octavia asks. Bellamy looks at her grimly, and they both look at Raven, who hasn’t reacted at all, her eyes still blank of any emotion.

“Raven?” Clarke whispers, leaning forward, her hand gripping Raven’s tighter. Raven simply blinks, but does nothing else, a solitary tear falling down her cheek. They hear a bang and Clarke looks up over the barrier to see Anya leading her group of rebels through the doors that lead to the rest of the building. Lincoln is by her side, as well as Indra, Gustus and Nyko…

“Where’s Lexa?” Clarke whispers. She feels the air slowly leave her lungs and her heart begins pounding because it can’t have happened, it can’t…not her too, this is too much, she can’t be…

But as Octavia runs toward Lincoln and he rushes forward to catch her, she sees her. 

Clarke doesn’t know what compels her to do it, but she’s jumping up and running towards them before she can stop herself and she sees the look of surprise on Lexa’s face as she runs toward her. Gustus moves aside before Clarke barrels into her so hard that Lexa stumbles back before wrapping her arms around Clarke’s waist. She practically lifts her just as Clarke’s arms wrap around Lexa’s neck tightly.

“Thank god you’re okay.” She whispers. Lexa chuckles into her ear before setting her down, but Clarke doesn’t remove herself from Lexa because she can feel herself starting to break-

“Hang on a little longer, Clarke. We’ll have privacy soon, I promise.” Lexa whispers. Clarke doesn’t know how Lexa seems to know she’s on the brink of breaking, but she does. Clarke sniffs, but swallows down her sobs and nods once before letting Lexa go. Lexa’s eyes meet hers, green and wide with sorrow as she nods once and clutches Clarke’s hand tightly.

“Let us move out!” Anya shouts.

“Sha, Heda!” Everyone chants, before moving towards the exit. Clarke follows Lexa, their hands still intertwined as all the other soldiers pass the barrier where Raven and Bellamy are, ignoring them, but not rudely so, as if to give them privacy over their loss. Clarke watches as Anya comes to a stop in front of Raven. Clarke sees now that Anya is under better lighting that Anya does not look well at all. She’s covered in sweat and she’s paler than the moon. Her armor is stained with blood, and some is even dripping down where Anya stands, mixing with the pool of blood created from Finn.

“Raven…we can bring his body back with us, give him the burial he deserves.” Anya breathes. Lincoln rushes forward and helps keep Anya standing, his arm wrapping around her waist and Clarke looks at Lexa, who’s staring at Anya anxiously. Raven looks up at Anya and blinks a few times before nodding slowly, looking down and touching Finn’s face gently.

“Lincoln…please.” He nods once and relinquishes his hold on Anya before bending down, touching Raven’s shoulder gently before picking Finn’s lifeless body with ease. Raven’s hands fall helplessly to her waist as Lincoln carries Finn out and Lexa’s hand suddenly disappears from Clarke’s touch as she takes Lincoln’s spot in supporting Anya, her arm wrapping around Anya’s waist. Clarke bends down and does the same with Raven, and Octavia helps her, both of them helping Raven up gently. 

“Clarke…” Raven whispers hoarsely, and Clarke blinks back tears as she rests her head against Raven’s shoulder.

“I’m here.” She whispers back. They take each step slowly as Anya leads them out of the warehouse and down toward a large garage like door which is open, and Clarke sees it leads to the outside, where rain is gently spitting down, bright lights that look like football stadium lights illuminating what looks like a parking lot. They walk toward it, and the fresh rain hits Clarke’s skin, causing goosebumps to erupt on her skin from the cold. Lexa is still supporting Anya as she leads them to Lincoln’s armored truck, and Clarke sees there’s at least seven other trucks identical to Lincoln’s lined up as well, all of Anya’s people getting into the trucks without hesitation, ready to follow their leader to their next destination.

“Where are we going?” Clarke asks when they reach Lincoln’s truck. She sees Lincoln close the boot of the truck, his expression filled with grief and she knows Finn’s body is back there. The very thought brings bile to the back of her throat and she shakes her head, willing the image of Finn’s dead body out of her mind. Anya looks at her.

“Back to Indra’s…I need to get patched up.” She breathes, her face losing even more color. Clarke nods once. 

“I want…” Raven says suddenly, and everyone turns to look at her. She looks up at Anya, her eyes determined, but filled with sadness.

“I want to bury his body. Please…” She whispers hoarsely. Anya simply looks at her for a few moments before nodding.

“We’ll make arrangements when we reach Indra’s.” Raven’s bottom lip trembles and she simply nods before detaching from Octavia and Clarke and walking toward Lincoln, who opens the passenger door for her. She enters the truck and sits right at the back where Finn’s body is, curling up in her seat as she simply stares into space. Clarke moves into the truck next and looks behind Raven at the small space that makes up the trunk of the truck to see a white sheet covering Finn’s body. Her heart drops and she looks at Raven, who closes her eyes as tears fall down her cheek. She sits down in front of her and immediately reaches out to take Raven’s hand. Raven’s grip is tight and Clarke pressed her hand against her forehead. 

She feels a weight beside her and looks up to see Lexa sit beside her. Lexa’s eyes are filled with despair, but Clarke can see she’s anxious over Anya, too. The entire right to Indra’s is taken in silence, but Clarke observes Anya in the front seat, observes her labored breathing and the way her eyes keep fluttering as if she’s trying to stay conscious. Clarke watches Lexa as she watches Anya, her eyes flicking to her every so often and growing more anxious as she does.

Clarke doesn’t let go of Raven’s hand the entire way back to Indra’s. She stops the flood of sadness and despair from engulfing her, refusing to show weakness for Raven’s sake, but she isn’t sure how long she can hold it in for. When they reach Indra’s, Clarke looks down at Lexa’s wrist at her watch and sees the time is only 2:30 in the morning.

_I just want this night to end…_

The truck comes to a stop, and Lincoln rushes out and opens the passenger door for them. They each hop out, and Nyko rushes to Anya’s side from the truck he was riding in.

“Come, Heda. We’ll patch you up.” She simply nods and leans against him tiredly as he helps her toward the house. Lexa watches them leave anxiously as she steps out of the truck and Clarke grips her hand.

“Go.” Clarke tells her softly. Lexa bites her lip and looks at her before running toward the house after Nyko and Anya. Clarke wraps an arm around Raven’s shoulders as Lincoln walks up to her, his expression remorseful.

“If you want…we can burn his body. We don’t have to-”

“No. Do it.” Raven says hoarsely, looking up at Lincoln with a sad and faltering smile. Lincoln nods grimly and opens the boot of the truck, carrying Finn’s body out as gently as he can. Raven watches him and takes a deep breath in, her bottom lip trembling. Octavia grips Raven’s hand and Bellamy suddenly touches Raven’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry. This is my fault. All of this tonight-” He starts, and he sounds on the verge of tears before Raven looks back at him, shaking her head furiously.

“Don’t. Just don’t.” She says. He looks at her in shock before casting his head down and they all keep walking forward. 

“Hey!” Lincoln calls out ahead of them. The three guards at the entrance look up at him as he moves closer. 

“Build a pyre.” He says. They exchange confused looks before nodding at Lincoln and moving toward the front yard. Lincoln climbs the steps and rests Finn’s body on the porch. Raven immediately sits by Finn’s body and moves the sheet back to expose his pale face. Clarke feels herself breaking and she takes a deep breath in. She turns only to see Bellamy looking down at Finn, his jaw clenching and she tries her best to block it all out.

“I need…” She doesn’t finish her sentence before she rushes into the house and bumps into someone.

“Sorry-”

“Clarke.” Her vision is blurred from the tears in her eyes, but she knows it’s Lexa. Lexa’s hand wraps in hers and she drags her gently through the house, and Clarke allows her to, because she doesn’t know where she is or what’s going on, she just can’t breathe…

Lexa pulls them into an empty room and slams the door shut behind them and Clarke breaks down. The sobs escape her chest before she can stop them and she falls to her knees because she can’t carry her weight anymore. But Lexa is there to catch her, falling down with her gently and Clarke sobs into her chest loudly, unable to stop herself.

Finn is dead. Gone. She’ll never see him smile again. Never berate him for being annoying or getting her in trouble again. It all seems trivial now, her anger toward him for breaking into the Factory Station. She was always angry at him, always, why…why didn’t she ever tell him she loved him, told him that she did care for him despite how much he annoyed her-

“I’ve got you…” Lexa whispers, brushing her hair back gently and Clarke is so thankful that she doesn’t tell her that it’s okay, because nothing is okay.

Finn is dead and nothing is okay. Countless others have died tonight along with Finn and nothing is okay. 

Clarke doesn’t know how long they both sit there, arms wrapped around each other before there’s a sudden shout from outside.

“HEDA!” Lexa suddenly pulls away and Clarke looks up at her in shock.

“Lexa?”

“It’s Anya.” Lexa murmurs before standing and ripping the door open, Clarke at her heels as she wipes away her tears. They enter the dining room to see a crowd forming and Lexa storms through it, Clarke right behind her until suddenly, they see it.

Anya is on the ground, blood gurgling from her mouth as her body twitches and convulses.

“Oh god…” Clarke breathes out. 

_No, no…not Anya, too…_

“Zoran, stop the survivors from the other room getting in here, we can’t let them see this.” Indra says quickly, and Clarke watches a young man at the back of the room walk over to the living room where Clarke knows the survivors are.

“Nyko!” Lincoln growls, shouldering his way through everyone and bending down beside Anya. Everyone disperses as Nyko makes his way through the ground and bends down by Anya’s head. He grips her head in his hands, trying to keep her steady.

“She’s going into shock, lift her legs!” Nyko says frantically. Lincoln, who’s bent down beside Anya’s legs, reaches out and lifts them high onto his lap. Clarke looks around to see Octavia and Bellamy watching from the entrance, and Raven’s head appears between them, watching what’s happening in the dining room with tears still falling down her face over Finn, but there’s also worry in her eyes. 

“She’s lost too much blood…” Nyko says, looking down at Anya and waving his hands frantically as he tries to find something, anything-

“Then help her!” Lexa roars, bending down and gripping Anya’s arms to stop her from convulsing.

“I-I’ve already given her dopamine, it’s not working, I-I can’t help her, she needs a hospital!”

“THE HOSPITALS ARE CLOSED, NYKO!” Lexa screams.

“I CAN’T DO ANYTHING, LEXA!” Nyko shouts back. Everyone kind of stands there in stunned silence before Anya suddenly chokes and her body goes still. Clarke moves forward to see Anya is pale and sweaty, but there’s a small smile forming on her face as her eyes find Lexa.

“Ai…Ai gonplei ste…odon.” She gasps out. 

“NO!” Lexa growls, gripping Anya’s hand tightly. Anya eyes roll in the back of her head as she sighs.

“Lexa…I…I want…”

“Shut up, Anya, you are not dying!” Lexa roars, and Clarke sees tears fall down Lexa’s cheeks as she reaches for the wound on Anya’s chest, pressing down to stop it from bleeding. 

_I have to help…_

Clarke rushes forward and sits down beside Nyko at Anya’s head, her hands reaching for the wound on Anya’s chest as well.

“We can stop the bleeding, we just need to wrap the wounds tightly.” Clarke says urgently, but something grabs her wrist tightly and she looks down to see it’s Anya, who smiles at her now.

“No amount…of rags can…stop this. I can…feel my life fading…” She breathes. Clarke shakes her head.

“No, we can save you!” She says fiercely, because they can’t lose Anya, too, not after Finn, it’s not possible, but Anya shakes her head.

“Ai gonplei ste odon.” She repeats.

“YOUR FIGHT IS NOT OVER!” Lexa screams, but Clarke looks up at Lincoln to see his head is bowed, to Nyko, who is crying helplessly, to Indra, who is behind Nyko and gritting her teeth to stop herself from crying. 

“Clarke…” Her voice is so broken, the sound of it breaks Clarke’s already shattered heart even more and She looks at Lexa, who is looking at her in such desperation that Clarke can’t bear to look back at her. There’s nothing she can do…

“I’m sorry.” She says, her voice cracking as tears fall down her face and she falls back in defeat, her whole body shaking as she tries to stop herself from crying. Lexa looks back down at Anya, her bottom lip trembling as tears fall down her face.

“Anya, no, please…” Lexa whispers, her voice cracking as well as she reaches for Anya, who looks at her.

“I’m…so proud…of you.” She whispers.

“Anya, beja…” Lexa croaks, gripping Anya’s hand tightly, but Anya drags Lexa down closer to her.

“Take my place.” She says hoarsely. Clarke looks at her in shock and turns to see Lincoln’s head shoot up and he stares at Anya in surprise. Lexa shakes her head.

“No. You’re going to be okay.” Anya suddenly musters what little strength she has left and wraps a hand around the back of Lexa’s neck tightly, shaking her roughly with the little amount of energy she has left.

“Take…my place.” She says again, this time more loudly. There’s suddenly murmuring around the dining table, but Clarke’s only focus is on Lexa, who is looking at Anya in disbelief.

“I…I can’t. I can’t lead…”

“What…do you think…I’ve been training you for…this whole time?” Anya breathes out, chuckling before coughing. Blood sputters from her mouth and she wheezes, her breathing becoming ragged. 

“No…” Lexa looks up at the others wildly, confused and unsure, but Anya grips her neck even tighter.

“Em pleni, Lexa. This…is your destiny.” Anya says slowly, but still, Lexa is shaking her head.

“You can’t leave me. You can’t!” Lexa growls through gritted teeth fiercely. Anya’s eyes soften and Clarke sees a tear fall from the corner of her cheek.

“I won’t…I’ll always be…here.” She lays her hand flat over Lexa’s heart and Lexa rests her hand on top of Anya’s, and Clarke can see her whole body shaking. Anya winces and her hand drops weakly as her eyes roll in the back of her head again.

“ANYA!” Lexa cries, shaking her. Anya breathes in and opens her eyes again before wincing.

“My sword.” She groans. Lincoln stands and grabs Anya’s sword from the dining table before bending down once more and handing it to her. Anya looks at Lexa and lifts her sword, resting it in Lexa’s lap.

“Yu laik kom Heda nau.” She says hoarsely. Lexa’s eyes widen as she stares down at the sword, tears dripping onto the steel lightly.

“Anya…” She looks up at her and Anya smiles.

“I know…you’ll do your best.” Anya breathes. Lexa bites her lip before nodding.

“I promise I will.” She whispers, reaching out and touching Anya’s cheek. Anya smiles before her hold on Lexa’s hands goes limp and her eyes close, her last breath escaping her.  
It’s silent. Completely silent everywhere around them.

“Anya?” Lexa whispers, her hold on the sword going limp as it clatters at her side and she lifts Anya up into her arms, sobbing into her chest loudly. 

“Come back, please…” Clarke hears Lexa sob into Anya’s chest, and Clarke looks at Lincoln with tear filled eyes to see he is crying as well. He drops Anya’s legs down from his lap gently and stands before moving to Lexa and bending down, placing his hand on her shoulder, but Lexa doesn’t notice, her head still buried in Anya’s chest.

“Heda…” Those words make her look up, her face screwed up in pain and grief as she looks at Lincoln, tears falling down her face as she sniffs and Clarke feels her heart break at the sight. She looks so young and vulnerable in this one moment, her hair almost completely out of its ponytail braid and frazzled, her wide green eyes filled with tears…

_Like a pond…_

Lincoln’s eyes soften and he takes her head in his hands gently.

“You can do this, Lexa.” He says softly. Lexa stares at him for a few moments before shaking her head.

“I-I can’t…”

“You can. Anya believed you can.” He whispers. She shakes her head again, her grip on Anya tightening and Lincoln presses his forehead against hers gently.

“She’s been training you for this from the beginning. She wants you to take over for her. Make her proud, Lexa.” He says fiercely. Lexa’s bottom lip trembles, but she nods against him before sniffing once again and moving away from him. He relinquishes his hold on her and she lowers Anya’s body to the ground gently. She stares at Anya’s face for a few moments before leaning forward and pressing a kiss to Anya’s forehead. Lexa takes in a deep breath and looks up at Clarke. Clarke can see in her eyes that she’s afraid, that she’s scared and grieving and tired, and Clarke feels every emotion she’s feeling reflected in her eyes, because she is scared, she is grieving and she is tired, so, so tired…

Lexa wipes away her tears before nodding once to herself and standing. Everyone else around the room stands straight, waiting, watching…to hear what their new Commander will say.

“Lincoln…wrap her in a sheet. Have the others finished building Finn’s pyre yet?” Lexa asks, her voice surprisingly calm and steady, but her eyes are still on Anya and still filled with unbelievable grief. Bellamy suddenly speaks up from the doorway and Clarke looks over at him to see him step forward as he speaks.

“Yes.” Lexa turns to look at him. 

“Tell them to build another one, please.” She says calmly. Bellamy nods once and walks out of the front door, his hand brushing against Raven’s, whose eyes close at his touch.   
“I need…a moment. I’ll be in the empty bedroom, please…do not disturb me unless it’s urgent.” Lexa calls out, her bottom lip trembling and her composure slipping before everyone bows their heads.

“Sha, Heda.” Lexa walks away toward the room she and Clarke just exited from and Clarke watches her leave, a pit of emptiness forming in her stomach as looks over at her friends. Raven’s eyes are emotionless as she watches Lincoln wrap Anya’s body in a white sheet and Clarke walks towards her and Octavia.

“Raven…are you okay?” Clarke asks her softly. Raven looks up at her, and Clarke sees tears fall down her cheeks.

“How many more people are going to die tonight?” She whispers. Clarke wraps her arms around her best friend, tears falling down her face because she doesn’t have an honest answer and it kills her. But she tells Raven what she wants to hear, what she knows she wants to hear…

“No one else is dying tonight. No one but the people responsible for Finn and Anya’s deaths.” She says fiercely. Raven hands seem to tighten on her back before she pulls away and Clarke can see the anger in her eyes, blazing like fire as she nods.

“We’ll make them pay.” Clarke grips her hand tightly before Octavia suddenly rests a hand on Clarke’s shoulder. Clarke looks at her to see she’s biting her bottom lip in hesitation, but she sighs and jerks her head behind her.

“Go see Lexa.” She says gently. Clarke’s eyes widen in shock before she looks down at her feet and shakes her head.

“She’ll want to be alone right now-”

“I don’t want to be alone right now. So trust me…she doesn’t either.” Raven says, her voice shaking. Clarke looks at her and bites her lip when Octavia grips her hand.

“Bellamy and I will stay with Raven. Lexa needs you.” 

“She barely knows me-”

“Trust me, you’re the only person she wants to talk to right now.” Octavia says. 

“She’s right.” Clarke turns to see Lincoln carrying Anya’s body in his arms, his expression grim as he makes his way toward them.

“Go to her, Clarke. She’s our Commander now…we need her. You have to help her.” 

“But wouldn’t one of you be better? You know her more than I do.” She says, and to her surprise, Lincoln chuckles.

“I think you’ve seen more of Lexa tonight than I have since I met her, and I train with her nearly every day. Lexa’s a private person, she doesn’t like opening up to people. But when she’s with you…I see those barriers come down. And I can honestly tell you I haven’t seen that since Costia was alive.” Clarke bites her lip and Lincoln simply sighs.

“Go to her.” He says. Clarke watches him for a few moments before nodding. Octavia lets go of her and she slowly makes her way past the dining table, where Indra and Nyko are wiping the blood off the floor, both of them with somber looks on their faces. She walks past the kitchen and toward the bedroom door.

She hears the sobbing before she even reaches the door and she closes her eyes, letting out a long breath.

_We’re both grieving…_

She knocks on the door before opening it gently to find Lexa curled up on the bed, her arms around her stomach as if she’s trying to hold herself together. She looks up and when she sees Clarke, she slowly sits up, her whole body shaking before she suddenly bursts into tears again. Clarke enters the room and closes the door behind her, rushing to Lexa’s side.

“I can’t-I can’t breathe!” She gasps out, and Clarke is suddenly flooded with memories she completely forgot existed.

_“I can’t breathe, mom, I c-can’t breathe-”_

_Abigail Griffith ran as fast as she could toward her daughter, wrapping her arms around her behind and pressed her cheek against her daughter’s._

_“Dad, he’s-he’s-”_

_“Shh, deep breaths, sweetie. You can do this, come on.” She lifted her into a straight position, breathing deeply and slowly and willing her to do the same, and Clarke feels herself almost automatically following her mother’s actions, her heart already calming down…_

She shakes her head and jumps onto the bed before sitting behind Lexa and wrapping her arms around her from behind, and she follows what her mother did all those years ago, pressing her cheek against Lexa’s gently.

“Breathe, Lexa. Just focus on breathing right now, okay?” Clarke can feel Lexa’s whole body shaking in her arms and Clarke feels tears fall down her face before she can stop them. 

“I can’t!” Lexa chokes out, but Clarke’s hold only tightens.

“I’m here, okay? I’m right here, just focus on breathing, follow what I’m doing, come on.” Clarke begins breathing in and out slowly, holding Lexa to her and Lexa’s whole body seems to relax as she begins breathing in slowly, her breaths shaky as her grip on Clarke’s hands tighten. She slowly calms down, her hysteria turning into gentle sobs and Clarke slowly lets go of her, moving back only to have Lexa grip her shirt and bury her head into Clarke’s shoulder. Clarke breathes in before letting her go and taking her face in her hands.

“You can do this, Lexa. Anya wanted you to take her place because she knew you had it in you. And I’ve seen it in you as well.” She shakes her head and Clarke does as well.

“I’m serious! You’re a leader, Lexa! You can do this!” Clarke says fiercely. Lexa bites her lip, fresh tears falling down her face.

“What if I fail?” She whispers, her voice cracking slightly. An old saying Clarke’s father used to say to her all the time flashes in her mind and she takes a deep breath in before letting go of Lexa’s face and gripping her hands.

“If you get knocked down, you get back up and try again.” She says, and she wills herself not to cry as her father’s voice echoes in her ears. Lexa’s eyes meet Clarke’s and they go wide.

“Those are smart words.” She says calmly, and Clarke can’t help herself as she chuckles.

“My father used to say that to me all the time.” She says slowly, and Lexa nods in understand.

“Get knocked down…”

“Get back up and try again.” Clarke finishes, nodding once. Lexa looks at her and Clarke sees it in her eyes: there’s a sudden determination in them.

“Thank you.” Lexa whispers. Clarke simply nods.

“Always remember that.” She says. Lexa bites her lip, fresh tears falling down her face before she lifts her chin high.

“That’s what Anya would have said, too. Get knocked down, get back up.” She says determinedly.

“Then do it. For her.” Clarke whispers. Lexa takes a deep breath in and Clarke grips her hands tightly.

“Those people out there, they believe in you. I believe in you. You can do this, Lexa. I know…I know it’s hard…you’ve lost everyone, and-”

“Not everyone,” Lexa interrupts. Clarke looks into Lexa’s eyes as they look into her own before trailing down to her lips. “Not you.” She whispers, and before Clarke can say anything, Lexa moves forward and kisses her.

Clarke’s only ever kissed two people in her life before. Her first kiss was with a guy named Alex when she was 13, and it was so awkward that Clarke felt pretty sure she never wanted to kiss anyone again. Her second kiss was when she was 17, and her best friend, Wells (who also happened to be Thelonious Jaha’s son) had kissed her at a party, drunkenly telling her that he’d been in love with her since they were 14. Clarke had told him she didn’t feel the same way and their relationship never went back to what it was. In fact, Wells (who was dead set to enter Jaha University because he was the Dean’s son) opted to leave the state altogether and go to a different school because Clarke was going to Jaha University. Clarke remembers the kiss being sweet even though she had been slightly buzzed from the alcohol at the party, but it hadn’t sparked anything inside her.

Clarke can’t even begin to describe what this kiss feels like.

It feels like the sun shining down on you despite the gray clouds cast over you that cause rain to fall on your skin. It feels like opening a fresh set of paints with all the different shades of green imaginable. It feels like walking through the woods with the sun peeking down at you through the canopy, the breeze blowing your hair back and caressing your skin gently. It feels like fresh paint brushes on a fresh canvas turning into a work of art.

This kiss transcends anything Clarke has ever felt before and she finds her hand moving up to touch Lexa’s cheek before they fall, tracing along Lexa’s jawline gently before Lexa pulls away. She rubs her nose against Clarke’s own before kissing her once more, and Clarke feels like all the pain she feels, about Finn, about her father, about everything that’s happened tonight, has disappeared in this one brief moment of happiness.

Lexa slowly moves back and rests her forehead against Clarke’s, taking in a deep breath.

“I’m s-” Clarke silences her with another kiss before she can even get the word out because Clarke doesn’t want her to apologize. Clarke’s pretty sure she’s been wanting this since the moment she first laid eyes on Lexa. She shouldn’t apologize for bringing this one moment of happiness in what has been possibly one of the worst days of both their lives.

There’s a soft knock at the door and they break apart, both of them breathless before Lexa’s hands slide down Clarke’s arms and reach her hands.

“Yes?” Lexa calls out, her eyes not moving from Clarke’s.

“The pyre is ready, Commander.” They hear Gustus call out. Lexa’s eyes widen before she sighs and bites her lip.

“Commander…” She whispers. Clarke grips her hands.

“You can do this.” She says gently. Lexa looks at her before lifting her chin, tears in her eyes as she nods.

“Let’s go send off our friends.” 

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The breeze is gentle, and Lexa closes her eyes as she feels it caress her skin gently, the sound of thunder rumbling above them almost echoing how she feels right now.

“They said there shouldn’t be more rain tonight. This might just be a small storm passing over us.” Lincoln says to her in a low voice. Lexa nods numbly, her eyes trailing up to see Raven holding the torch in her hand with shaking limbs, tears falling down her face as she looks at the pyre in front of her where Finn’s body is laying, the white sheet around his body covering him from view. Lexa tears her gaze away to look down at the pyre in front of her, where Anya’s body is laying, also covered in a white sheet and obscured from view. She feels a sudden pang in her heart when she realizes that Anya will never eat that second breakfast buffet…she broke her promise…

“I’m sorry.” She whispers, tears in her eyes that spill over within seconds. 

She has to do this. For Anya. For everyone else that’s suffered and is suffering. The second Clarke had said those words, “get knocked down, get back up”, Lexa had realized that that was exactly what she needed to do. This was about so much more than her pain, her grief over Anya, this was about the people who were looking to them for help, for sanctuary…

_Anya knew that, that’s why she was so ready to sacrifice herself, so ready to do what needed to be done to help others…and I need to do that, too._

She looks up to see Clarke has joined Raven now, reaching out to steady Raven’s shaking hand as she helps her hold the torch, the flames illuminating her face in the most striking and beautiful way. 

“Ready?” Clarke whispers to her. Raven lets out a shaky breath before nodding once.

“I love you.” Raven says hoarsely toward Finn’s body, before lowering the torch towards the wood, which is covered in oil and catches fire immediately. Raven buries her head into Clarke’s shoulder, not wanting to watch her boyfriend’s body burn and Lexa looks down at Anya’s body one last time, knowing her fate is the same as Finn’s. 

“Yu gonplei ste odon.” She whispers, before lowering the torch to touch the wood. It catches fire and spreads immediately and she steps back, bringing the torch down to her face and blowing it out with one big breath. She looks around at Anya’s warriors-my warriors now, she realizes-and sees they’re all watching Anya’s body burn in grief. 

They stay there for many moments, all of them watching their mother, sister, friend, protector, and so many other things burn before them. She hears footsteps behind her and Lincoln clears his throat by her ear.

“I just got the call from Osias. They’ve found him. Cage is holed up in his father’s building in the middle of the City.” Lexa’s heart races, and she finds nothing but pure anger is flooding through her as she scoffs in disbelief.

“Of course he’d be hiding in the tallest tower in the City.” She growls. Lincoln rests a hand on her shoulder.

“What do you want to do?” He asks gently. Lexa watches the pyre where Finn’s body is lying and turns to look at Anya’s pyre before lifting her chin up.

_She knew I can do this. I can do this._

“We’re ending this now.” She feels Lincoln take a deep breath in beside her as she leaves her position beside him and steps toward her porch, her heart racing, but her mind determined as she steps up onto the porch.

“My friends!” Everyone goes quiet and turns their attention to her and she swallows the lump in her throat, holding her head high despite the racing of her heart. She looks to Lincoln, who nods encouragingly.

“Today…we have lost not only our Commander, but our friend. Our sister. Our mother. Our soulmate. Anya was…a warrior unlike any this world has ever seen. She fought for justice, and for those who could not fight for themselves. She strived to end this madness and keep the people of this City safe. She was a hero…who has met a tragic end. But we will not stop fighting because we have lost our leader. We will NOT cower in the corner and hide while they stomp us out one by one!” Her voice echoes as it grows louder and she sees the others nodding along in agreement, anger and determination written all over their faces.

“Get knocked down, get back up! And we will get back up! And we will fight! Anya’s fight may be over…but ours has just begun! Oso gonplei don jos stot au!” They cheer loudly and Lexa lifts her head higher.

“Anya will be brought to justice! Tonight, Cage Wallace’s life ends at our hands!” They all cheer again, some of them punching the air with their hands and Lexa unsheathes Anya’s sword and raises it in the air.

“JUS DREIN, JUS DAUN!” She screams, and they all raise their fists, chanting “jus drein, jus daun” as loudly as they can. Lexa takes a deep breath in, adrenaline and exhilaration pounding through her and she steps down, looking over at Clarke and her friends. Raven’s eyes are filled with anger, but determination as well, and Bellamy and Octavia’s jaws are both clenched, both of them nodding at Lexa in agreement. Lexa’s eyes meet Clarke, who lifts her chin up and nods at her, her blue eyes blazing from the flames of Anya’s burning pyre. 

“Lexa?” Lexa turns her attention to the side to see Lincoln and Gustus walk up to her.

“What do you need us to do, Heda?” Gustus asks. 

“Prepare everyone for battle. Make sure each sword is sharpened and each gun is filled with ammunition,” Lexa looks down at her watch. It’s 4:30 in the morning. She looks up at Lincoln. “Make sure everyone is ready to leave in an hour. We don’t have long left.” 

“Sha, Heda.” Lexa looks toward Clarke as Gustus and Lincoln walk away and she beckons her forward before also waving forward her friends. They all walk toward her and Lexa leads them back inside the house and into the bedroom that she had been in with Clarke earlier. She closes the door behind them and turns to look at them. They all look frightened, but determined and Lexa sighs.

_Innocent, all of them…_

“I’m not asking you to risk your life. I’m not asking you to fight Anya’s…MY war. If you wish to stay here, I will leave warriors with you to protect you-”

“They killed Finn.” Raven says through gritted teeth, her eyes filling with tears.

“We want justice. For our friend.” Bellamy says, gripping Raven’s shoulder tightly. Clarke steps forward, her face grim.

“We’re fighting with you, no matter what.” Lexa feels her heart expand at those words, but she simply nods once before smiling at them.

“We’ll get you fresh clothes and weapons.” Raven nods once before moving forward, and to her surprise, she hugs Lexa, her arms wrapping around Lexa’s shoulders.

“I’m sorry about Anya.” She whispers. Lexa feels her eyes sting and she blinks rapidly before touching the small of Raven’s back gently.

“I’m sorry about Finn. But we’ll get justice for them both. I promise.” Raven nods against her shoulder before pulling away, and Lexa smiles at her before turning her attention to Octavia, who steps forward, Bellamy right behind her.

“Lincoln couldn’t have chosen a better partner.” Lexa says to Octavia, and she smiles once, her jaw clenching as she lifts her chin up high. Lexa can’t help but feel like Octavia would make a perfect warrior, and she truly believes that her and Lincoln could dominate this entire city if they wanted to. The thought makes her smile, and Lexa looks to Bellamy now, who scratches the hair out of his eyes. Lexa frowns at him before reaching toward for the drawer. She opens the first one to find a comb in it, and she walks up to him, showing him the comb, but he shakes his head.

“It’s fine.” 

“It’ll obscure your vision if you plan on fighting. Come here.” He sighs before turning around and Lexa raises an eyebrow. He’s way too tall for her to reach and Octavia chuckles before grabbing his shoulder and pushing him down. He grunts before basically squatting, and Lexa brushes Bellamy’s hair back, making sure to brush back the hair that covers his eyes. When he turns, he reaches up and scratches his forehead before grinning.

“Thanks.” She smiles at him before looking at Raven, Octavia and Bellamy altogether.

“Go to Gustus. Tell him I sent you to get clothes and weapons.” They all nod once, and Raven leads the way as Octavia and Bellamy follow her. They close the door behind them and Lexa turns her attention to Clarke, who sighs before stepping forward.

“Your hair is out of its braid. I can redo it for you if you wanted.” She says gently. Lexa smiles and nods once and Clarke’s smile grows wider. Lexa sits down on the bed and she feels the bed sink as Clarke sits before her. Her fingers are delicate, and even when she uses the comb, she seems to take her time, the artist in her needing perfection in each braid, but Lexa doesn’t mind. She takes less than two minutes, and Lexa reaches out and grabs her hand gently before turning to face her.

“Thank you.” She whispers. Clarke smiles and looks down at their intertwined hands, biting her lip with hesitation.

“About that kiss…”

“You’re not mad are you?” Lexa asks her, the smile slowly fading, but Clarke chuckles and shakes her head.

“The opposite, actually.” Lexa’s heart starts racing as Clarke looks up at her and leans forward. Her lips press against Lexa’s in the gentlest way, and Lexa doesn’t know why, but tears fall down her cheeks. Perhaps it’s how gentle Clarke is with her, or that she’s the happiest and yet the saddest she’s ever been in her life and her body doesn’t know how to handle two emotions that are completely different from each other. But she leans further into the kiss, deepening it, needing the happiness to overtake the sadness over Anya. 

Clarke pulls away and knocks her forehead against Lexa’s gently.

“Ready for battle?” She whispers. Lexa nods once, her hand reaching up as she touches Clarke’s cheek gently. They walk out of the room hand in hand and Lexa leads Clarke outside where all her soldiers are gathering, their weapons in their hands and their faces filled with determination. Anya and Finn’s pyres are completely gone now, nothing but smoke and ash where they were and Lexa’s heart pangs with grief.

“Heda.” Lexa turns to see Indra walking toward her with a rucksack in her arms, and Lexa squeezes Clarke’s hand.

“Go see Gustus.” Lexa says to her, smiling. Clarke nods once and lets her go and Lexa watches her walk away before turning to Indra, who looks at her with what looks like pride.  
“She built you to be a warrior. A leader. Don’t let her down.” Indra says. Lexa feels her jaw clench and she nods, more determined than ever to prove herself.

“I won’t.” Indra smiles before dropping the rucksack gently and opening it. She reaches down and first pulls out a light bulletproof vest first. She pulls it over Lexa’s head and straps it around her waist and it hugs Lexa’s body tightly. She then pulls out the leather breastplate and the gard-brace that was Anya’s and Lexa’s heart skips a beat.

“She’d want you to have it.” Indra says. Lexa simply nods, tears stinging her eyes as Indra first ties the leather breastplate over Lexa’s chest before clipping the gard-brace into place.

“Thank you, Indra.” Lexa says softly, and Indra surprises her by reaching out and offering her a one armed hug. 

“Make her proud. Make us proud.” She says simple, and then she walks away. She hears someone chuckle behind her and turns to see Nyko smiling at her.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Indra hug someone before.” He says. She smiles and he touches her shoulder.

“Do you want me out there?” Lexa stares at him for a few moments before she shakes her head.

“The people matter more, and some might come injured. It’s best you stay here. If anyone gets hurts, I’ll send then your way immediately.” He nods once and pats her shoulder before walking away. 

Lexa sighs and looks up and out to the yard to see Clarke’s friends with Lincoln further down the yard, all of them seated on stools. She looks at them in confusion before walking toward them and is surprised to see black paint in the shape of a hand print on the left side of Raven’s face as she turns to look at her. She’s wearing a black shirt, a light bulletproof vest over her chest and stomach and camouflaged pants, the clothes of all the warriors currently milling in the yard. She has a handgun strapped to her hip and she’s resting her hand on top of it as she nods at Lexa. 

She looks ready for battle. 

“You look good.” Lexa tells her, and she looks up at Octavia, who stands, also dressed in the same gear as Raven, except her eyes are covered in blank paint, making the green color of them almost sparkle. Lexa notices that Lincoln’s machete is strapping to her back and her attention turns to Lincoln, who is currently working on Bellamy. 

“Where’s Clarke?” Lexa asks.

“With Gustus.” Raven says simply. Lincoln finishes applying a black stripe across Bellamy’s eyes with a stripe of white paint bordering the black and Bellamy stands. He looks almost as fit as Lincoln, the black shirt hugging his chest as he slips his bulletproof vest on over his head and straps it in. Octavia hands him the machine gun she’s holding and he holds it in his arms, sighing as he looks at Lexa.

“Ready when you are.” He says hollowly. She nods and looks at Lincoln, who washes his hands clean of paint before dipping his fingers into the white paint and trailing them down one side of his own face so it looks like stripes. 

“Lexa.” She turns to see Clarke making her way toward her, dressed in the same clothes as Raven and Octavia, a bulletproof vest tight around her body and a handgun strapped to her leg. Lexa feels all the air leave her lungs at the sight of her. 

She’s absolutely beautiful. She smiles as she walks towards Lincoln and sits down in front of him. He stares at her for a few moments before reaching into the black paint and brushing three stripes down the right side of Clarke’s face with his fingers, starting from her forehead and going down her right eye to stop at her cheek. He then wipes his hand underneath her right eye where the paint is so it smudges and when Clarke opens her eyes, the blue color seems to accentuate.

“You look like a warrior.” Lexa tells her. She smiles.

“I feel like one. My leg isn’t even hurting anymore.” She says, looking down at her injured leg, which is strapped very tightly once more. She steps aside and holds a hand out to the seat in front of Lincoln, and Lexa’s heart races. She’s had paint put on her face before, but this is the first time she’s doing it as Commander. 

She takes her spot in front of Lincoln, who nods once at her before dipping his hands into the black paint. He seems to work on her for a long time, and she can’t see anything, her eyes completely closed before she hears him grunt and Lexa opens her eyes to see him holding something in his hand.

“It’s Anya’s…the pendant she always had in her hair. I saved it before we…” He trails off, and Lexa looks into his palm to see the small circular pendant in his hand. He looks up at her before suddenly placing it on his thumb and pressing it between her eyes gently. Lexa opens her eyes and finds him looking at her proudly.

“Now you look like our Commander.” He whispers. Lexa feels tears flood her eyes, but she blinks them back and stands. Octavia, Bellamy, Raven and Clarke all stare at her in awe, and she’s about to say something to them when Indra walks over to them.

“We’re ready, Heda.” She says. Lexa looks between her and Lincoln.

“Let’s go end this once and for all.” Before they even begin making their way toward the truck, however, there’s a shout, and Lexa turns to see the man and the woman Clarke had saved earlier in the night rushing toward them. Clarke’s eyes widen and the man stops before them, a little out of breath as he holds his hand out to Lexa.

“You’re their leader, right?” He says to Lexa. She nods once and she takes his hand. He shakes it, a small smile playing on his lips.

“Thank you. For saving me. The name’s Murphy. This is my sister, Andrea.” Andrea smiles at them, stepping forward with a limp and Lexa can see there’s a certain anger in Murphy’s eyes at the sight of his injured sister. Lexa looks at Clarke, who seems to be entranced at the sight of the two people she saved tonight alive and well.

“I have a feeling you wish to speak to me once this day is over.” Lexa says, looking at Murphy once more. He raises an eyebrow.

“What gave it away?” He asks, smirking. She smirks back at him.

“Intuition. Also the scream of ‘bloody murder’ that’s in your eyes.” Murphy’s jaw tightens and he nods once.

“I’d like to join you.” Lexa’s attention turns to Andrea, who looks anxious and Lexa can see she doesn’t want her brother to leave her. Lexa looks at him for a few moments before shaking her head.

“Not tonight. You and your sister have been through enough. We’ll talk if I return-.”

“When you return.” Clarke interrupts. Lexa looks at her with soft eyes before sighing.

“When…I return.” Murphy looks disappointed, but he nods and grips his sister's hand and Lexa turns, walking away from him before reaching out and grabbing Clarke’s hand, intertwining their fingers.

“Ready?” Clarke takes a deep breath in and squeezes Lexa’s hand.

“Ready.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...Again I'm sorry! Also there's a couple more chapters left I believe!


	7. Chapter 7

The sky is beginning to turn blue instead of black when they reach the tallest building in the City, and Clarke notices that the streets are a little less noisy now, the carnage of the night showing all over the place in broken windows and lamp posts that have fallen down. Clarke turns in her seat to look at Bellamy’s watch. It’s 6:00 in the morning.

An hour left of this night.

Lincoln brings the truck to a stop on the side of the road and Clarke looks out of the window. She sees a few bodies on the ground and her stomach turns. She closes her eyes and wills herself to look away, and she feels Raven grip her hand tightly. She looks at her best friend, who looks at her anxiously and Clarke sighs, her eyes feeling heavy as she blinks. She feels fatigued and tired, before it hits her that she hasn’t really had sleep in almost 48 hours. After spending last night chasing Finn (her heart pangs with guilt) and Raven before getting caught, she hadn’t gotten the opportunity to sleep, apart from the two hour nap she had after leaving the Dean’s office. She rubs her eyes tiredly, willing herself to stay alert. 

_An hour left. You can make it._

She notices that even though the truck has stopped, no one has made a move and she looks ahead to the passenger seat to see Lexa and Lincoln staring at the building. Lexa’s brow is furrowed and Clarke doesn’t understand what’s going on until she looks up at the building herself.

If Cage was there, he should have security everywhere. But there’s no one.

The building is way too quiet and Lexa has definitely noticed this as well because she stares at it suspiciously. 

“Lincoln…open your door, but don’t get out.” Lexa says suddenly. Lincoln stares at her in confusion before slowly opening his door. A gunshot suddenly rings out and hits the window, causing the glass to crack, but not break due to it being bulletproof. Lincoln slams the door shut quickly and looks at Lexa beside him in shock, who looks up at the building in anger.

“They have snipers, we can’t get out here. They’ll kill us all before we even take one step inside.” She growls. Clarke is looking at the cracked glass in shock when Lincoln suddenly looks back at them before looking at Lexa in hesitation.

“Do you trust me?” He asks. Lexa looks at him.

“With my life.” She says immediately. Lincoln looks at Clarke, Bellamy, Octavia and Raven once more. 

“Hold onto your seats.” He says, before gritting his teeth and gripping the steering wheel tightly. Lexa’s eyes widen.

“What are you-” He slams his foot onto the accelerator and they all lurch forward before he spins the wheel sharply and heads straight for the ground building of the level.

“Oh god!” Clarke feels her heart fly to her throat and she grips her seat tightly as the truck bobs up and down before there’s the sound of glass breaking as they crash through the doors. The truck seems to vibrate and Clarke reaches out and grabs Raven’s hand as Lincoln continues driving through the main lobby area. He crashes through the reception desk and Clarke winces as the truck shakes wildly before they suddenly come to a screeching stop. They’re all breathing heavily, and Clarke exchanges looks of disbelief with her friends before looking at Lexa, who’s also breathing heavily, but is grinning at Lincoln.

“Good job.” She says. He grins back at her and Lexa grabs the walkie talkie on the dashboard.

“Park inside the building behind Lincoln. They have snipers, it’s not safe to exit the trucks outside the building.” She tells the others, before placing the walkie talkie back on the dashboard and opening her door. She opens the passenger door as Lincoln exits the driver’s seat. One by one, Clarke and her friends file out, and Clarke exchanges a smile with Lexa, who smiles back before it turns into a look of worry.

“Ready?” She asks softly, her eyes moving to every inch of Clarke’s face, as if she’s trying to memorize every last part of it, and Clarke’s heart skips a beat before she nods.

“As I’ll ever be.” Clarke whispers. Lexa grips her hand tightly before the sound of more glass breaking causes them to turn. More trucks are beginning to file in, all parking in the lobby around Lincoln’s truck. Indra is the first to exit her truck with Nyko and Gustus by her side. She walks over to Lexa, her entire demeanor ready for battle as her hands finger the sword at her hip.

“What now, Commander?” She asks, coming to a stop before them. Lexa lets go of Clarke and moves down the hallway that leads to the elevators. There’s huge security metal detectors that they all pass through, and they sound off, for a few moments before Gustus shoots at them and they shut down, electricity sparking from them. Lexa keeps walking as if nothing has happened and points to a map beside one of the elevators. They all gather around it and she looks at it for a full minute before nodding to herself and turning to face her warriors. She unsheathes her sword.

“There’s over 20 levels to this building. If we have any hope of finishing this before the Purge ends, we need to split up. Indra, you take a group of twenty and lead them through levels 1 to 5. Gustus, take a group of twenty and lead them through levels 5 to 10. Lincoln, you take levels 10 to 15 with your group. The rest of you will come with me to take over levels 15 to 20. Cage will more than likely be at the top, tranquil in what he believes is his safe haven. I’ll be the one to take care of him.” Lexa says, her jaw clenching at her final words. Everyone simply nods and begins forming into groups and Clarke already knows Octavia will want to stay with Lincoln, and Bellamy will refuse to leave Octavia. She turns to face her friends, who look at her grimly and she can tell they’re thinking the same thing.

“Stay safe.” She says, and before she can do anything, Octavia rushes forward and hugs her tightly, her head resting against Clarke’s shoulder.

“You too.” Octavia says hollowly. Clarke sighs and hugs her back just as tightly before she moves away and reaches for Bellamy, who wraps his arms around her waist tightly.

“Don’t hesitate. If someone’s coming for you, kill them.” He says in her ear. She nods numbly before resting her chin on his shoulder, wishing they could just teleport back to the university, back to before this night ever happened and everything would be okay.

_We’re doing this for Finn. We need to avenge him._

She closes her eyes and nods to herself before letting go of Bellamy and looking at Raven, who immediately shakes her head.

“I know you’re staying with Lexa. And Lexa’s the one who’s gonna get Cage, I know it. So I’m staying with you.” She says. Clarke bites her lip. She has no right to deny Raven this…no right whatsoever. She simply nods and Raven lifts her head in determination before reaching for Octavia and Bellamy, who hug her tightly.

“I can’t take losing anyone else, so you fight to survive.” She says fiercely. They both nod against her shoulder before letting her go and Bellamy leans forward, pressing a kiss to Raven’s forehead.

“Stay safe.” He whispers. Clarke sees Raven’s bottom lip tremble before she smiles slightly, tears in her eyes. Clarke clasps Raven’s hand.

“Let’s go get his son of a bitch.” She whispers. Raven lifts her head high as they turn to face Lexa, who walks over to them with a group of soldiers at her heels.

“I’m assuming you’ll join my team?” She says, looking at Raven and Clarke, who both nod. She turns to Octavia and Bellamy. “You’ll join Lincoln’s?” They both nod and she points to Lincoln, who is talking to his group in hushed tones. Bellamy simply nods and exchanges one last look with Clarke and Raven before grabbing Octavia’s hand and walking toward Lincoln. Lexa’s eyes watch them leave before turning back to Raven and Clarke.

“I can’t guarantee that Cage is at the top level, but I believe he is. I don’t know what will happen-”

“We’re with you no matter what.” Raven interrupts. Lexa stares at her, her expression softening before she nods.

“Alright.” She motions to her group to follow her as she begins climbing the stairs up the building, Clarke and Raven right behind her. Clarke can hear the other groups following her, and she can feel her heart truly beginning to pound loudly now.

This is it. She could die in the next few minutes.

She tries not to think about it as they pass a sign that says Level 1, and Lexa looks behind her at Indra, who nods at her and signals for her group to stop at the door that leads to Level 1. The rest keep charging up the stairs and Clarke can hear the sound of Indra yelling before there’s the sound of a door being kicked open and the sound of yelling and gunfire echoes up the stairwell. 

Lexa freezes for a moment before continuing her ascent, her expression betraying nothing of the worry she feels. Gustus’s team breaks off from them at level 5 and Lexa looks back to exchange a single look with him before continuing up. Clarke figures the adrenaline that’s pumping through her is the only thing keeping her going right now because the stairs feel like they’re never going to end. The gunfire ceases for a few moments before picking up again and Clarke figures one of the levels has been cleared. 

They reach level 10 and Clarke looks back, her eyes searching before she finds Bellamy, Octavia and Lincoln. Lincoln is looking at Lexa, who closes her eyes, her jaw clenching before nodding once.

“Give them hell.” She whispers. Lincoln’s expression turns stoic and determined as he turns to the door. He kicks his leg out and it bursts open. He charges in with a yell, and Octavia unsheathes the machete at her back and raises it in the air with a yell before charging in after him, Bellamy and the rest of the group right behind her as shouts of anger echoing throughout the staircase. Clarke watches the spot where Octavia and Bellamy disappeared and she shakes her head, blinking back tears. Lexa continues climbing and Raven suddenly grips Clarke’s hand tightly. Clarke looks at her to see her expression is white and Clarke knows she’s worried about Octavia and Bellamy.

“They’re with Lincoln. They’ll be alright.” Clarke whispers, trying to reassure herself more than Raven, really.

When they finally reach level 15, Clarke feels her sweat mixing with the war paint on her face and her heart feels like it’s about to beat out of her chest. Lexa’s face is filled with nothing but determination as she unsheathes her sword and grips her gun. Clarke, for the first time, looks at it properly and notices the artwork drawn and engraved on both sides of the gun’s slide. She remembers in the back of her mind that the gun belonged to Echo, who gave it to Lexa in her last moments. It all feels like forever ago…

“Ready?” Lexa calls to everyone. Clarke pulls her handgun out from its holster and grips it tightly as she nods. Lexa looks at her, her expression softening for half a second before returning to its stoic and determined nature. She throws her leg out with a cry and the door to level 15 bursts open.

The first thing Clarke notices is that this level is filled with nothing but desks cubicles and chairs with computers on top of them and paperwork everywhere. It looks like a regular office.

Except there’s about 15 men in white uniforms with machine guns in their hands, all of them with their weapons trained at the door.

Clarke rushes forward and grabs Lexa by the scruff of her neck and practically drags her down to the floor just as the sound of gunfire rings out as they both fall to the ground behind a desk. Clarke immediately sits up, frantically looking around for Raven, but she can’t find her.

“RAVEN?”

“CLARKE, FOCUS!” Lexa shouts in her ear, and Clarke swallows the lump in her throat before following Lexa’s lead and using the desk as a shield. She pops up, shooting anyone she sees in a white uniform, not even realizing that she may be killing someone in the process. Lexa leaves her side and charges forward, reaching for her sword and Clarke stands, moving into the thick of the battle, keeping one eye out for Raven and one eye on Lexa. 

She sees Lexa slash a man’s throat, and her whole attention is so focused on him that she doesn’t see the man creeping up behind her until intuition and the hairs standing on the back of her neck tells her there’s someone behind her.

Clarke doesn’t think. She breathes in and exhales before spinning around and pulling the trigger, and she watches the bullet land straight between his eyes. Clarke barely has time to register that she just killed a man before someone else pops up from the left of her and has his gun pointed at her. Her heart drops before she hears a bang and he falls to the ground in front of her, screaming in agony and clutching his leg. She turns to see Raven with her gun pointed at the guy as she pulls the trigger again. He stops twitching and Clarke feels bile rise in her throat before Raven suddenly rushes forward and grabs her hand.

“Gotta be more vigilant, Clarke.” She mutters. She drags Clarke through the office, and Clarke sees Raven shooting at anything that’s moving that’s remotely wearing white. At one point she shoots a white chair before realizing what she’s done and Clarke feels like she should laugh but nothing about this situation is humorous. The 15th floor is finally clear after seven full minutes of continuous battle and as soon as Lexa confirms everyone on this level is dead, she calls for her warriors to reform. 

“Clear?” She calls out.

“It’s clear!” One warrior tells her. She nods and leads them back to the staircase. They begin their climb to level 16 and Clarke can feel her whole body shaking, but she refuses to break down now. She can do this. She can fight. They reach level 16’s door, and Lexa grips her sword tightly. She shoves open the door and suddenly, a man in a white uniform rushes toward her, a knife in his hands. 

Clarke’s heart flies to her throat and she’s about to reach forward when Lexa simply moves aside, holding the door open as she holds out her leg. He trips over it and the knife falls to the ground before he tumbles over the staircase’s railing. His screams echo all the way down to the bottom main lobby and Lexa looks up at Clarke, her expression shocked.

“That was unexpected.” Raven says. Lexa lets out a deep breath and Clarke swallows the lump in her throat. They enter the 16th level and-

No one. Not a single person in a white uniform, only empty desks and chairs.

“Is there no one here, Heda?” One of her warriors calls out. Lexa walks in and scans the entire room and Clarke follows her, her gun raised and her whole mind focused before Lexa looks at her and shrugs.

“It would appear so.” Lexa says, before turning back to the staircase and beginning to climb it up to the next level. 

Level 16 was empty, but Level 17 is a different story.

The second they open the door, they’re hit with gunfire, and Lexa pushes Clarke back down a few steps before moving away from her and hiding behind the wall where the door is. The bullets whiz past the door and hit the back wall of the staircase they just climbed and Clarke feels like throwing up as she looks up at Lexa, who’s breathing heavily, her eyes wide with fear. She reaches behind her back and pulls out a dagger from her belt. She seems to be counting down in her mind and suddenly, the gunfire ceases. 

She bares her teeth and grips the handle of the door and pulls herself around it, taking aim at something in less than a millisecond and throwing the knife. Clarke hears the knife make contact at the sound of someone grunting and Lexa takes the opportunity to aim her gun next and shoot another person before running into level 16. Clarke follows after her and she hears Raven behind her as well before the gunfire kicks up again. All three of them hide behind a desk as the other warriors all roar and follow their Commander. 

Many of her warriors are gunned down before they reach the men in white shooting them and Lexa watches their bodies fall before gritting her teeth and standing. Clarke and Raven follow her without hesitation and jump into the battle, guns blazing. Raven manages to kill two men before one man grabs her and Clarke’s leg seems to kick out on its own and make contact with his leg. His knee makes a sickening cracking sound and he screams in pain before Raven spins around and elbows him in the face. He falls to the ground, unconscious and Clarke looks around to see the battle on this level is already won. The last man in white drops to the ground at Lexa’s feet and Clarke breathes heavily, looking around to see Lexa glaring around the room for any sign of another man in white. 

“Heda!” Lexa looks up and Clarke follows her eyesight before noticing only 12 of her warriors remain.

“You shouldn’t have run in like that! You should’ve waited for my call.” Lexa hisses at them, stepping away from the man she just killed and glaring at the warrior who called her.

“Sorry, Heda. We thought you may have been hurt. We can’t lose two Commanders in one night.” He says, bowing his head. Lexa sighs, her expression softening as she nods her head.

“The bodies will have to remain for now. But we’ll come back for them. Let us finish this so we can give them the burial they deserve.” They all nod at her as she leads them toward the staircase.

“Come on, three more levels left.” 

Lexa leads them up the flight of stairs to the 18th level. When she reaches the door, Clarke can see her expression is more anxious now that she has less warriors. She takes a deep breath in and throws the door open and hides behind it in preparation when suddenly, something small, pear shaped and dark green flies out of the room and clutters on top the ground before coming to a stop in front of them. Clarke stares at it in confusion before Lexa suddenly kicks it back into the room and shuts the door quickly. 

“GET DOWN!” Clarke doesn’t hesitate and she grabs Raven, pulling her down as there’s a gigantic booming sound and the entire floor shakes. Screams and yells echo from inside the room and Lexa looks up at Clarke and Raven in shock as the shaking ceases.

“Is everyone okay?” She calls out. Clarke nods as Lexa’s warriors stand and she looks at them in worry.

“Grenades are level 5 classification weapons.” She says, and Clarke’s heart drops, her eyes widening.

“That’s illegal, even tonight. They’re getting desperate.” Lexa nods once before licking her lips and looking at her remaining 12 soldiers. She seems to think for a few moments before nodding to herself and looking behind Raven and Clarke at her group.

“Three of you will stay behind and dispose of any remaining on this level. The rest of you will take care of level 19. I will head to the last level. Cage will more than likely be there. We need to end this now.”

“You should take some of us with you, Heda.” One warrior says, and Lexa looks down at Clarke and Raven.

“I am.” Clarke feels nothing but pure pride and gratification fill her body as Lexa licks her lips again and nods.

“Let’s go.” The three at the back of the group stay behind and throw the door to level 18 open, rushing inside, but there isn’t a sound of gunfire as the rest of them begin their ascent up the stairs. When they reach level 19, Lexa’s warriors stop and look at her anxiously.

“Be careful, Heda.” One of them says. She nods once as someone throws the door open and they all file inside, their weapons raised. As soon as gunfire sounds, Lexa takes a deep breath in and walks up the remaining flight, Clarke and Raven right behind her. As soon as she reaches the door to level 20, she turns to look at them.

“This could be dangerous. We could die within the next minute.” She says. 

“That’s been the case since the moment we stepped out of the university. What are we waiting for?” Raven replies. Lexa looks at Clarke, who gives her a small nod despite the lump in her throat and she sighs before kicking the door open-

And finds only a gigantic empty room covered in white paint with a single desk right near the back of it.

Clarke walks in after her and looks around the place in shock. It’s literally completely empty, the tiled floors shining from the lights hanging above. A coffee-table sized desk is at the far back of the room, where the entire wall facing the outside of the building is made of windows. Clarke exchanges a glance with Lexa before there’s shuffling behind them and they turn just in time to see someone grab Raven. They both raise their guns but there’s a flash of silver aiming towards Raven’s leg. Before Clarke can react, Raven is screaming in pain and Clarke sees a knife sticking out of her thigh.

“NO!” Clarke rushes forward, her heart dropping and Lexa raises her gun just as Raven’s attacker peeks over her shoulder, wrapping an arm around her neck. He lifts his right arm and Clarke sees he’s clutching a pistol.

“Drop it, Commander!” He barks. Clarke takes in his brown hair, which is slicked back and his brown eyes, which are frantically looking at Lexa, who immediately bends down and drops her gun, but Clarke sees her eyes drop to his lips before she grins, her lip curling as she snarls.

“I see Anya left her mark on you last time you met her, Cage.” She hisses, and Clarke turns back to stare at Cage Wallace, who raises the hand of the arm currently wrapped around Raven’s neck to his mouth where a large scar takes over almost his entire upper lip. He grins.

“Well she’s dead now, so looks like I got the last laugh.” He sneers, chuckling. Lexa’s smile fades and Clarke’s heart is pounding so hard it’s thundering in her ears. All she wants is Cage Wallace as far away from Raven as possible. Raven’s breathing heavily, her face sweaty as she looks at him from the corner of her eye.

“You’re Cage Wallace?” Raven growls, her face contorting in rage. He chuckles.

“Sure am, sweetheart. Sorry about your boyfriend.” He whispers in her ear. Raven’s eyes go wide in anger and she suddenly starts struggling against him, screaming and Clarke takes the opportunity to run forward, right fist curling and heading straight for his face. It makes contact with Cage’s nose and she hears a sickening crunch. Her hand immediately throbs with pain, but she accomplishes what she set out to do when Cage lets go of Raven. 

Clarke immediately grabs her and they step away from him as he clutches his nose, but Clarke looks down to realize it’s her hand that made the noise: three of her knuckles are broken. Her whole hand is throbbing numbly, but she ignores it, looking up to see Cage staring at his hand, checking for blood before he chuckles just as Lexa bends down and grabs her gun again. He suddenly whistles. A door to their left that they didn’t notice before opens and two guys exit, both of them wearing white and both of them almost 6 feet tall. They both have machine guns in their hands, which are trained on Raven and Clarke. Lexa stops in her tracks at the sight of them and Clarke feels her whole body go numb. 

She steps back, but the men advance on them way quicker than they can get away, and one of them reaches for her.

“Come here!” He snarls, his gigantic hand reaching for her and Clarke pushes Raven behind her, refusing to let them get her friend. She doesn’t care if she dies right here right now. They’re not hurting Raven any more than they already have. He growls and lifts his gun, pointing it right at her head and Clarke’s heart drops. She swallows the lump in her throat and lifts her hands in surrender as the second guy grabs Raven and drags her to him. 

She fights against him, but all it takes is one arm wrapping around her shoulders before she stops, tears of hot anger in her eyes as he points his gun at her head. The guy reaching for Clarke grabs her by the bicep and drags her to him and Clarke’s broken hand throbs in pain. She looks up at Lexa in anguish. Lexa’s jaw clenches in anger as Cage sighs, chuckling to himself before looking up at her.

“You’re going to take your army and you’re going to leave, or I’m going to kill them.” He says, pointing first at Lexa before moving his finger to point at Raven and Clarke. Lexa doesn’t tear her gaze away from Cage, and Clarke sees the hesitation in her eyes before they widen, and a small smile curls her lips upwards. 

“I have a better idea.” She says. She raises her hands in surrender and drops her gun again before reaching for her sword slowly. She unsheathes it and drops it to the ground. 

Clarke stares in shock as it echoes loudly, clanging against the tiles. She reaches behind her back and unstraps the knife attached to her breastplate. Cage is staring at her with narrowed eyes before she cranes her neck and swings her arms back and forth, stretching.

“We fight for it. No weapons, except for the human body. You defeat me, they walk out of here, unscathed, with my army, and you get to kill me.”

“No!” Clarke rushes toward her frantically, but the guy holding the gun to her head pulls her back. Hot tears prick at her eyes, but Lexa doesn’t look at her, her eyes still locked with Cage’s.

“I defeat you…I get my revenge and put a bullet between your eyes.” Lexa spits out. Cage chuckles, licking his lips and he grins at her before curling his hands into fists.

“Alright, Commander. Deal.” Lexa smiles and raises her fists. Clarke watches helplessly, unable to do anything as they square off. Cage is the first to charge, his right fist jabbing forward and Lexa quickly moves her body to the left, avoiding his fist. She aims for his ribs and he blocks it with his left arm before swinging his right hand toward her face. He makes contact and Clarke winces at the impact, her entire body shaking as Lexa drops to her hands and knees before quickly getting up and moving back. She spits out blood and faces him, her face showing no pain. 

They both raise their fists again. Cage is the first to attack again and this time, he kicks his right leg out, aiming for her ribcage. Lexa moves both arms to block his attack and uses them to push his leg back. He swings around, but uses the force to swing his left leg at her face. Lexa ducks before charging forward and ramming her right shoulder, which is guarded by the gard-brace, right into his stomach. He groans, but grabs Lexa around the waist and knees her in the chest. She yells out before pushing him back with her hands and straightening up, breathing heavily and wincing. Cage laughs and removes his jacket slowly, circling her as he drops his jacket to the ground and unbuttons the first two buttons of his red dress shirt.

“Is that all you’ve got? God, Anya wasted her time on you.” Lexa bares her teeth and yells as she swings her right fist toward his face, which he blocks easily. He left fist strikes out and makes contact with her ribcage. Lexa doubles over and he sends his next punch flying at her face. She falls to the ground on her hands and knees, groaning and Cage laughs loudly before slowly following her as she tries to crawl away from him. 

Clarke struggles against the guy holding her, desperate to help her even though she knows nothing about fighting when Lexa suddenly catches Cage’s ankle in between her legs and trips him down. He smacks to the ground face first and Lexa climbs onto his back, attempting to put him in a sleeper hold but he elbows her in the face and she falls onto her back behind him, blood pouring from her nose. He stands and wipes blood from the corner of his mouth before suddenly reaching into his pocket and pulling something out.

“Anya made her mark on me…now I’m gonna send you right to her with a mark on you from me.” He growls, and Clarke sees him slip on a gigantic gold ring onto his left index finger. He climbs on top of Lexa and she attempts to push him off feebly. He laughs and slaps her hand away before striking her right in the face with his left hand. Clarke screams at him to stop, and she attempts to punch the man holding her, but he laughs in her ear and grips her tight as Cage continues pummeling into Lexa, snarling as his fist hits her face, and Clarke and Raven both try to push the men holding them off desperately, Clarke completely ignoring the pain in her right hand, but it’s no use. Clarke closes her eyes because there’s no way this is happening, no way she’s losing Lexa as well…

Cage throws his sixth and last punch at her face and Lexa’s entire body convulses, blood spitting from her mouth as he stands breathlessly, stepping back. Clarke looks down at Lexa to see her right cheek already bruising around a cut which is bleeding heavily. There’s a cut across her eyebrow as well and she blinks blood out of her eye, which is swelling already. There’s a cut along her jaw that’s bleeding, blood trickling down her neck, and she turns onto her left side. Blood pours from her mouth and she spits out a few teeth before rolling onto her back once more, wheezing.

“Did you really think you were going to win?” Cage says, laughing loudly and looking down at Lexa with a smirk. Clarke feels hot tears fall down her face and she looks at Lexa’s bloody face before yelling at her.

“GET KNOCKED DOWN, GET BACK UP!” Clarke screams. The guy grabs her roughly, growling at her to shut up, but Lexa’s eyes go wide and she looks up at Clarke. Clarke bares her teeth in anger and nods, trying to tell her that she can do this through a simple look. That she can’t let Cage win, that Cage murdered Anya, and Finn, and her father, and countless other innocent people…

She seems to understand because she bares her teeth before slowly getting up. She stumbles before standing straight, her breathing raspy and Clarke lets out a groan of relief. Cage’s smirk fades and he shakes his head.

“Don’t know when to quit, huh?” He growls, and he suddenly swings his right fist, but Lexa ducks and strikes him in the ribs. He falls back and she suddenly spins and swings her left leg out. It makes contact with his face and Cage spins before falling to the ground. He pushes himself up and stands and Lexa surprises him with another dropkick right to the chest. They both fall back at the same time and Lexa twists her wrists behind her head and pushes herself back up quickly as Cage groans on his back. Lexa climbs on top of him and grabs him by the front of his shirt. 

She lays her right fist into his face repeatedly, each grunt growing louder before he suddenly twists his right arm around the arm holding his shirt and pushes Lexa back with his other arm. She moves back and he suddenly kicks her chest with his leg to push her down so she’s lying flat on the ground and Clarke sees him put Lexa’s body into an arm bar before there’s a loud snap that echoes around the room. Clarke hears Lexa scream in pain, and he lets her go, laughing hysterically before climbing on top of her. She barely has time to move back before his hands wrap around her throat tightly. Lexa’s eyes bulge and she gasps for air, her right arm grasping his wrist and trying to pry him off. His hold around her throat tightens as he bares his teeth. Lexa’s face slowly begins turning purple as she scratches at his forearm. She draws blood, but he doesn’t even flinch. 

“LEXA!” Clarke throws caution to the wind and throws her leg out right between the legs of the guy holding her. She knows she’s hit the right spot when he groans in pain and he momentarily lets her go. She takes the opportunity to run forward and swings her foot forward, making contact with Cage’s face. He falls back with a grunt and Clarke’s about to attack again when she’s suddenly gripped by her hair and pulled back. She crashes to the ground and looks to see the guy she kicked glaring at her, his gun pointed at her.

“Kill her!” Cage roars. Clarke closes her eyes, waiting for her death to come-

She hears a loud bang and opens her eyes just as two gunshots ring out and hot blood sprays her in the face. She blinks rapidly before looking up to see the man who was pointing his gun at her has fallen to the ground, blood pooling around his body. Clarke lets out a shaky breath and looks to her left to see Lincoln enter the room, gun raised with Bellamy, Octavia, Indra and Gustus behind him. Clarke moans in relief, because she’s never been happier to see anyone in her whole life. Octavia and Bellamy rush over to her and Raven and Bellamy helps her to her feet.

“You alright.” She nods once and stares as Lincoln scans the room before he sees Lexa on the floor and Cage on his knees, looking up at Lincoln in anger. 

“You-” Lexa’s foot suddenly strikes forward and hits Cage right in the face. He collapses onto his back and Clarke can san see his nose is clearly broken. Lincoln bends down beside Lexa, one hand holding his gun to Cage and the other gripping Lexa’s right bicep. He drags her upwards and she stumbles before pushing him away lightly and standing on her own, her left arm cradled to her chest. She walks toward Cage and stands over him and he looks up at her, clutching his broken nose with shaking hands.

“It looks like it’s all over for you, Cage.” Lexa hisses shakily. She bends down and grabs him by the front of his shirt with her right hand, dragging him up to his knees and he laughs, a hint of hysteria in his voice as he talks, blood spitting from his mouth with each word.

“Do you really think it ends with me?! It doesn’t matter if you kill me, someone else will take my place! And when you kill him, another will take his place! On and on until you have nothing left but a bitter heart as you realize that you’ve lead an unfulfilling life spent chasing down people who never harmed you!” Lexa’s lip curls in disgust and she punches him with her right hand. He barely falls to the ground before she grips his shirt and drags him up to her face, his knees barely scraping the ground.

“Never harmed me? You kill innocent people for money! You killed our friends, you killed Anya!” 

“It’s kill or be killed, Commander. I’m just doing what our Founding Fathers did: I’m saving this country from the homeless, lazy scum who are trying to take it over, and I’m making an income from it.” He gasps out, laughing breathlessly. Lexa growls in disgust and pushes him down before standing and walking over to her gun. She grabs it with her right hand and tucks it into her belt before walking back to Cage.

She grabs him with her right hand by the scruff of his neck and drags him slowly toward the windows, Cage trying to fight her off but he’s unable to reach behind him. The others follow her slowly, and Clarke immediately reaches for Raven.

“Are you okay?” She whispers. Raven nods once and Clarke bends down to examine her leg as Bellamy and Octavia hold her up. The knife is still stuck in her thigh, but there’s only a small amount of blood. Clarke rips off a strip from the bottom of the black shirt Gustus gave her, her broken hand stinging from the pain and she grips the handle of the knife with her good hand.

“Ready?” She says, looking up at Raven. Raven nods once and Clarke pulls it out. Raven grunts and Clarke immediately wraps the strip around her wound tightly. Bellamy grabs Raven’s arm gently, draping it over his neck and helping her walk. 

Clarke moves ahead of them and sees that Lincoln still has his gun on Cage as Lexa drags him along before throwing him away from her past the desk at the end of the room. She lifts her gun and points it at his head before lifting it up and pointing it at one of the windows. She shoots and the glass shatters, falling down into the City below them. Cold breeze enters the room immediately and Clarke looks up to see orange rays on the horizon, the smaller building surrounding this one basking in the golden rays.

_Sunrise…_

Lexa grabs Cage once again and drags him to the window before letting him go. She glares at him before lifting her chin.

“You’ve caused my warriors nothing but pain and suffering for years. But I’m not the only one who’s suffering because of you.” Lexa suddenly looks behind her at Raven and she raises her right hand to wave her forward. Everyone’s attention turns to Raven, who lifts her chin before looking at Bellamy, who nods once and lets her go. She slowly limps her way toward Lexa with her head held high. Clarke can feel her heart racing and when she reaches, Lexa steps back from Cage, who looks back and forth between Lexa and Raven, his eyes wide and frantic.

“The kill is yours, Raven.” Lexa says, holding her gun out to her. Raven stares at her for a few moments, then looks down at Cage. Clarke bites her lip, unsure of what to say or do when Raven simply bends down, pulls back her fist and punches Cage once in the face. He drops to the ground, his eyes rolling in the back of his head and Raven stands, her teeth bared as tears fall down her cheeks.

“That was for Finn.” She growls shakily, and she’s suddenly limping her way back to Clarke, who runs out to meet her and hugs her tightly. Raven cries against her shoulder for a few moments and Clarke strokes her hair, opening her eyes to see Lexa staring at them both softly. Cage groans before rolling over onto his hands and knees. He slowly stands, his whole body swaying as Raven lets go of Clarke and turns to look at Lexa.

“Sorry…I can’t do it.” She says simply. Lexa smiles at her and nods once.

“It’s okay, I understand. You can’t do it.” She says. She turns to look at Cage, her face blank of any emotion.

“But I can.” And Lexa kicks her foot out and connects with Cage’s midriff. He falls back, a look of terror on his face he hangs there for a solitary moment before his body falls back out of the window and drops out of sight, his scream echoing in the morning sky.

It’s silent for a few seconds, Clarke looking at Lexa in shock as everyone processes what just happened when the sun breaks over the horizon and suddenly, the sirens are echoing all over the City.

Clarke’s entire body seems to collapse and she finds herself sobbing uncontrollably as relief floods her entire body. Raven turns and immediately embraces her tightly, crying into her shoulder. Bellamy and Octavia rush over and hug them both tightly, the four of them wrapped in each other’s embrace and Clarke can’t stop crying.

_We made it._

Her heart pangs with pain over Finn, and she grips Raven tighter before Raven suddenly lets her go, a gasp escaping her lips.

“You okay?” Clarke whispers. She smiles, her whole body seeming to sag in exhaustion.

“My leg.” She says, clutching it.

“Here.” Bellamy lifts her up into his arms and she sighs before looking at him and wrapping her arms around his neck. She rests her head against his shoulder and he slowly begins walking toward the entrance door. Octavia exchanges a glance with Clarke, smiling sadly before walking over to Lincoln, who hugs her tightly and grips her hand before following Bellamy out of the room. 

Clarke turns to see Lexa hugging Gustus tightly with her right arm only, her left one still cradled to her chest. He lets her go and touches her cheek gently before he and Indra both walk away. Lexa makes eye contact with Clarke, and she smiles before walking over to her. Clarke can’t stop herself from half-running, half-jogging toward her and wrapping her arms around her tightly.

“We made it.” Clarke whispers, and Lexa buries her head into Clarke’s shoulder, her right arm wrapping around Clarke’s waist.

“We made it.”

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Clarke doesn’t think she’s ever been happier to see Jaha University. She watches the gigantic buildings that make up the school loom closer from the window of the truck, exhaustion rolling through her as she tries to keep her eyes open. She turns in her seat to look at Raven, who is fast asleep with her head on Bellamy’s shoulder. Octavia is also asleep with her head resting on Bellamy’s other shoulder and Bellamy looks up at Clarke with a sad smile.

“Things are never going to be the same, are they?” He whispers softly. Clarke bites her lip, blinking back tears and shakes her head.

“No. I don’t think so.” He sighs before resting his head back against the seat. Clarke rubs her eyes tiredly. Things will truly never be the same…all in the span of 12 hours, their lives have changed forever…

Clarke turns back to the front and sees Lexa looking at her sadly from the passenger seat. The right side of her face is swollen and bruised, her right eye almost swollen shut. She’s still cradling her left arm to her chest as Clarke sits forward and holds out her left hand, her broken one cradled in her lap. Lexa reaches out, gripping Clarke’s hand with her right hand. 

"Lucky you broke your right hand and not your left. You wouldn't be able to draw anymore if you did." Lexa says. Clarke smiles weakly at her and looks down at her broken hand with a sigh.

"I still need a hand to keep the paper still. But hey, at least we're both crippled." Clarke says, nodding at Lexa's broken left arm. Lexa chuckles when the walkie talkie suddenly sounds with static and they hear a voice.

“Lexa, we’ve cleared the building of our warriors. We’ve laid them in the trucks and are heading back to the safe-house now.” Gustus’s voice sounds. Lexa lets go of Clarke and answers the walkie talkie.

“I’ll be there soon.” She places it back onto the dashboard just as Lincoln smiles at Clarke.

“We’re here.” Lincoln says gently, and Clarke looks out the front windshield to see the gate looming in sight. Lincoln takes his foot off the accelerator and pushes down on the brakes as the truck slowly comes to a stop in front of the gate. Lincoln pulls the handbrake and steps out of the car and Lexa looks at Clarke before pressing a gentle kiss to the palm of Clarke’s hand that she’s holding and following his lead. Clarke turns in her seat to see Raven and Octavia slowly waking up as Lincoln pulls open the passenger door. He holds his hand out and Clarke takes it, slowly stepping down. She looks at Lexa, taking in the many cuts on the right side of her face from Cage’s assault. She reaches out with gentle fingers, touching Lexa’s bruised cheek as softly as she can and Lexa’s eyes close at her touch. 

“Please go to the hospital after this.” Clarke whispers. Lexa laughs softly and opens her eyes before twitching her left arm, which is still cradled to her chest. 

“Have to, don’t I?” She says, wincing. Clarke smiles weakly and leans forward, kissing Lexa’s bruised cheek gently before taking her right hand and interlacing their fingers. The others group around Lexa and Clarke as they slowly begin walking toward the gate, which suddenly creaks to life and begins opening. Clarke looks at the guy in the booth to see him shouting into a walkie talkie. He must be contacting Jaha. 

“Do you think we’re in trouble?” Octavia says behind them.

“I hope not.” Bellamy mutters. 

Clarke looks past the gate to see a car suddenly turn the corner and practically fly toward them, gravel flying everywhere due to how fast it’s going. It comes to a stop just before reaching the gate, which is halfway open and the car has barely come to a stop when someone throws open the passenger door and jumps out. When Clarke sees who it is, her heart drops and she collapses to her knees with a sob.

“CLARKE! CLARKE!” Her mother doesn’t even wait for the gate to fully open. She squeezes through it, her eyes frantic and tears falling down her cheeks as she runs toward her daughter, collapsing to her knees and sliding into Clarke, wrapping her arms around her daughter tightly.

“Mom!” Clarke chokes out, and she finds herself sobbing uncontrollably as she buries her head into her mother’s shoulder, simply taking in the familiar smell of home as the events of the night seem to finally catch up with her.

“Thank god, oh thank god!” Her mother cries, hugging her so tightly that Clarke shifts uncomfortably and pulls away from her for air. Her mother looks at her, tears falling down her face as she touches Clarke’s face gently, taking in her injuries and the black paint on her face.

“Are you okay?” She gasps out.

“I’m alright. A few cuts and bruises and a broken hand, but I'm alright.” Clarke assures her, gripping her forearm gently to steady her. Clarke looks up to see Kane and Jaha exit the car and make their way towards them as the gate groans and comes to a stop, fully open. Jaha immediately looks to Bellamy, the oldest out of all of them, his expression filled with concern.

“What happened? We saw security footage of you and Miss Griffin leaving at 1:52PM yesterday afternoon and then saw Miss Blake, Mr. Collins and Miss Reyes leaving at 6:12PM after the gates had closed. Care to explain?” He demands, his arms crossing over his chest. Bellamy sighs and exchanges glances with Octavia, who looks at him with worry before he begins explaining. 

Clarke and her mother both stand, worry coursing through Clarke that Bellamy may get in trouble for leaving the grounds on the day of the Purge. Her mother suddenly shifts and looks over at Raven before reaching for her, one hand still wrapped around Clarke’s waist.

“Are you okay, sweetie?” She asks, taking Raven’s hand in hers. Raven’s nods once, but her shaking body betrays her and she begins sobbing, leaning forward and crying into Abigail Griffin’s shoulder hysterically. Abby lets go of Clarke in shock, hugging Raven gently to her and she looks at Clarke with wide eyes. Clarke bites her lip, unable to prevent the tears from falling as images of Finn flash in her mind.

“Finn, he…he didn’t make it.” She says hoarsely. Abby lets out a gasp of shock and she closes her eyes before sighing and hugging Raven even tighter.

“Oh god…” Raven cries even harder against her shoulder and Clarke wraps her arms around them both. It’s awhile before Abby lets go of them and places both her hands on either side of Raven’s face. She brushes Raven’s hair out of her eyes before leaning forward and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“I’m so sorry, Raven.” She whispers. Raven simply nods once, swallowing the lump in her throat and they hear footsteps beside them. They turn to see Kane making his way toward them and Abby looks at them both before grimacing and turning to walk toward him. He stops where he is as she reaches him, a look of confusion on his face.

“Finn Collins is dead.” Clarke hears her mother murmur to Kane, and his eyes go wide with shock before he puts his hands on his hips and hangs his head in defeat. 

“Damn…” He whispers.

“Clarke…” Clarke turns at the sound of her name to see Lexa standing behind her, her smile weak as she looks at Clarke’s mother talking to Kane.

“Your mother?” She asks, pointing with her right hand, and Clarke nods once. Lexa winces and adjusts her broken arm before sighing tiredly.

“You need sleep.” Clarke says, walking forward. Lexa chuckles and looks at her with a raised eyebrow.

“So do you.” Clarke smiles sadly at her and Lexa looks back at the truck before sighing as well.

“We have to go. We have bodies to bury and…arrangements that need to be made.” Lexa says, her jaw tightening and Clarke can see tears forming in her eyes.

“And you need to go to the Hospital.” Clarke adds sternly and Lexa’s scowl turns into a soft smile.

“And I need to go to the Hospital.” She adds. Clarke nods in approval and Lexa watches her for a few moments before suddenly hanging her head. 

“I’m…I’m sorry that I couldn’t save Finn-” Clarke cuts her off by stepping forward, grabbing her face and kissing her passionately, trying to convey how thankful she is that it was Lexa that found her, that it was Lexa who kept her safe throughout this entire night. Lexa who sacrificed so much to keep all of them from harm. Lexa stumbles back in shock from the force of Clarke rushing into her before her right hand grips Clarke’s elbow gently, and Clarke deepens the kiss before pulling away and resting her forehead against Lexa’s, opening her eyes and taken in the deep green color of Lexa’s eyes.

“Thank you. For everything.” She whispers. Lexa simply nods against her forehead.

“Promise me you’ll visit.” Lexa whispers. 

“Every weekend-crap.” Clarke says, pulling away from her abruptly, and she sighs and looks at Lexa sadly, who looks at her in concern.

“What?”

“I forgot my punishment for the whole incident yesterday involves not getting the weekends off.” She says, sighing and biting her lip. The disaster at the factory was only yesterday, how is that even possible?

Lexa’s about to reply when she looks behind Clarke and Clarke hears footsteps behind her.

“I think that after everything you’ve been through, continuing your punishment would be a bit harsh.” Clarke turns to see Jaha walking toward her, a sad smile on his face, but his attention turns to Lexa. 

“That young man over there tells me you’re his leader?” He says, pointing at Lincoln, who is wrapped in a tight embrace with Octavia as Bellamy talks with Kane and Abby, Raven by his side. Lexa nods once and lets go of Clarke to hold out her hand.

“I’m Commander Lexa.” Jaha looks at her in surprise before taking it, his grip firm and almost intimidating.

“Thelonious Jaha. You look a bit young to be a Commander.” He says. Tears swim in Lexa’s eyes, but she blinks them away and clears her throat.

“I only came into the position a few hours ago. I took the place of the woman who led us before me. She…she died in tonight’s events.” Jaha stares at her for a while, almost looking for any trace of a lie before sighing.

“We’ve heard of a rebel group existing outside the walls. We didn’t realize the…magnitude of your fight.” He says. Lexa’s jaw clenches, her expression turning cold in an instant.  
“It’s not a fight, Thelonious Jaha. It’s a war.” Jaha’s eyes narrow, perhaps because he’s not used to someone Clarke’s age referring to him by his first name, but he doesn’t say what’s on his mind. Instead, he presses his lips together before smiling.

“Thank you…for keeping them safe.” Lexa’s expression softens and she bites her lip.

“I couldn’t save all of them.” She says, and Clarke sees her attention is now on Raven, who has her head buried in Bellamy’s chest, who is brushing her hair back softly, his other arm wrapped around her. Clarke’s heart pangs with guilt and she reaches out and grips Lexa’s hand. Jaha’s eyes go down to their intertwined hands before flicking back up to Lexa.

“Mr. Collins’s family will be informed of his death as soon as we get back to Campus.”

“Then I shouldn’t keep you any longer. They deserve to know straight away.” Lexa says simply. Jaha nods once before walking away and Lexa looks at Clarke with narrowed eyes.

“That is the man that sent your father out?” Clarke nods and Lexa glares at his retreating figure.

“If the Purge was still on, I’d kill him where he stands.” Clarke chuckles but shakes her head, gripping Lexa’s hand tightly.

“It’s not his fault. It was all Cage’s. And I got my revenge tonight. For him.” Lexa looks at her before simply bowing her head.

“You’re a much better person than I am. All I could think about was killing him…for Anya. And I did.” Clarke places her left hand under Lexa’s chin and lifts her head so she can look her in the eyes, blue meeting green, but despite the different colors, the same grief is in both their eyes.

“You’re the best person I know. He deserved to die. No one who sells other people like their fodder for a living deserves life.” Lexa sighs before smiling slightly and Clarke suddenly feels a wave of exhaustion roll through her whole body. She rests her head against Lexa’s shoulder and they begin walking toward the gate.

“So, now that my punishment is lifted, I can come and see you every weekend.” Clarke says, and Lexa chuckles.

“I’d like that.” Clarke lifts her head, a grin on her face and they break apart at the sound of more footsteps, both of them looking ahead to see they belong, this time, to her mother. Abby looks at Lexa, her bottom lip shaking as she looks her up and down and Clarke feels worry course through her.

“You…you kept my daughter safe?” She whispers. Lexa bows her head and suddenly, Abby Griffin is rushing forward and embracing Lexa tightly, who looks at Clarke in shock.

“Thank you.” Abby breathes out. Lexa pats her back awkwardly before gasping in pain and Abby lets her go, covering her mouth in shock as she notices Lexa’s broken arm.

“Oh god, I’m sorry…” She says, reaching out and touching it gently.

“It’s alright.” Abby smiles before clearing her throat and pointing behind her at the university.

“You can come inside, I-I can take a look at your arm and your face. I’m a Doctor.” She says, pointing back toward the school. Lexa looks up at it with hesitation before sighing and shaking her head.

“My people need me. It’s best I get back to them as soon as possible. Also, you might need to attend to these guys first. Thank you, though" She says, nodding at Clarke, Raven, Bellamy and Octavia. 

“Lexa, the Hospital is going to be full of people, my mother can help you now.” Clarke says, simply wanting an excuse to spend more time with her. Lexa seems to catch on to her intentions though, because she smiles at her before shaking her head.

“I’ll be alright, Clarke. I’ve been through much worse than this.” She says, and Clarke sighs before nodding.

“Okay.” Abby reaches out and touches Clarke’s cheek gently before looking at Lexa.

“I’ll leave you two alone to say goodbye.” She says gently, before turning and walking back the way she came, toward Kane and Jaha, who are both in deep discussion by the gate. 

Clarke looks at Lexa, her bottom lip trembling before she leans in and kisses Lexa once more, the kiss urgent, but gentle at the same time. Lexa smiles against her lips before pulling away and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“Go. Spend time with your mother.” Lexa whispers against her skin. Clarke nods against her and looks up at her.

“I’ll see you next weekend.” She whispers. Lexa smiles.

“Can’t wait.” Clarke chuckles again and Lexa slowly moves away from her, not taking her eyes off her as Clarke also backs away, also not taking her eyes off her until her mother reaches for her hand. Clarke takes it and looks back at Lexa, who smiles and holds her right hand up in farewell. Clarke waves as Raven walks toward her and looks back at Lexa. Lexa smiles at waves at her as well, and Raven lifts her hand up. Clarke looks over at Bellamy to see his arm wrapped around Octavia, who looks back at Lincoln with a smile. Lincoln waves at her before walking over to Lexa. 

They all walk through the gates, which slowly begin to close and Clarke looks back to see Lexa jump back into the truck with Lincoln, her gaze never leaving Clarke’s. Clarke stops in her tracks and watches them as the car revs to life before reversing around to face the long driveway. It rumbles down and Clarke watches it leave until she can no longer see it, her heart already aching for the weekend to arrive. Her mother grips her left hand tightly and grabs her broken one gently, looking at it before sighing.

"Yeah, you definitely have a few broken knuckles there. Nothing a cast can't fix." Clarke groans and her mother chuckles before leaning in and kissing her temple, her eyes filled with tears as her smile falters. 

“I’ve been so worried the whole night. When I saw you leaving on the security footage…god it felt like the night your father...” She trails off, tears falling down her face and Clarke looks at her mother, her heart dropping. She doesn’t have the energy for this conversation, but she knows she has to do this…her mother deserves to know the truth.

“Mom…there’s something I have to tell you about dad…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter left!


	8. Chapter 8

One Year Later

She traces the curve of Clarke’s hips, playfully tracing patterns and shapes into her skin and Clarke hums in content, pulling the blankets closer around her body for warmth. They’re lying on Clarke’s bed in Clarke’s dorm, and Lexa’s incredibly frightened that someone may walk in and find them at any moment, even though Clarke’s assured her many times before that the door is locked and no one is getting inside. 

In these moments, Lexa forgets about her life outside the walls of the university, forgets about her life outside of Clarke, and it’s pure bliss. No worry over how she’s going to keep everyone safe from harm during the Purge, no worry over how she’s supposed to lead an army against the people who continue to participate in the Purge for malicious reasons. Just her and Clarke, together…happy…

Lexa’s fingers trace down and reach the scar on Clarke’s thigh next and she hears Clarke sigh, so she decides instead to begin tracing words into Clarke’s bare back, her fingers smooth against Clarke’s skin. As soon as she’s done, she presses a kiss to Clarke’s shoulder and lies her head on the pillow, burying her face into the back of Clarke’s neck as Clarke hums gently.

“I love you, too.” She murmurs, and Lexa grins, wrapping her arm around Clarke’s waist and pulling her closer. Clarke grabs her arm gently and turns to face her. She looks tired, her eyes half open, but there’s a silly half-awake smile on her face. She lifts her fingers and traces the scar on Lexa’s cheek before leaning in and kissing it gently.

“You’re half-asleep.” Lexa says, chuckling, but Clarke ignores her and kisses the corner of her mouth. Her hands reach for Lexa’s hips and she plays around with the lace on her underwear before kissing her gently. Lexa leans into the kiss as Clarke’s hand slides under her shirt. Lexa feels goosebumps on her skin and her heart begins racing before Clarke’s fingers hit the scar on her stomach. Clarke’s eyes open at the sound of Lexa’s sharp intake of breath and she pulls away.

“I’m sorry-”

“Shut up.” Lexa kisses her, more urgently this time and Clarke grabs her by the shirt and rolls her around so she’s on top of her. Lexa’s hair falls over Clarke’s face and she giggles against Lexa’s lips as it tickles her. Lexa laughs breathlessly and sits up, brushing her hair back with a hand before bending down to kiss Clarke again. Clarke’s hands move from Lexa’s thighs to the bottom of her shirt, fiddling with the hem as she lifts it-

_“Attention all Jaha University students. In light of tonight’s Annual Purge, we would like to remind students to ensure that they are back on campus grounds before 6 o’clock this evening. Any students who fail to arrive on campus grounds before this time will be locked outside for the remainder of the evening until 7 o’clock tomorrow morning when The Purge concludes. This is to ensure not only the safety of the school, but the safety of the students. These precautions include locking all entrances and exits to the campus, and placing well trained, professional security officers at each of these points. We would also like to remind you, that should you be locked out and should you suffer any injuries during tonight’s events, the school will not be held accountable. These rules were explicitly stated in the contracts you signed upon admission. Those wishing to participate in tonight’s events must be over 18 years of age, and will immediately need to visit the administration office for sign out forms. The same rules apply to any who are injured participating in tonight’s events. Blessed be our new Founding Fathers and America, a nation reborn. May God be with you all.”_

They both freeze before Lexa groans, rolling off and crashing beside Clarke, the bed groaning in protest.

“Well, that ruined the mood.” Clarke says, sighing. Lexa rubs her eyes tiredly before looking at Clarke with a small smile.

“I should go.”

“Do you have to?” Clarke whines, leaning over and resting her head against Lexa’s shoulder. Lexa laughs and rests her cheek on top of Clarke’s head.

“I think you’re forgetting I’m kind of the leader of the rebel militia group in this City.” 

“Yeah, but I’m your girlfriend, I come first.” Clarke says, wrapping an arm around Lexa’s waist and snuggling into her. Lexa laughs loudly before kissing her forehead gently.

“I have to go, Clarke. Sneaking in and out of this god forsaken campus is hard enough without it being the Purge today. It’s going to be ten times as hard to get out without being caught.” 

“Then just stay.” Clarke says simply. Lexa rolls her eyes.

“Forgetting again that I’m-”

“The Commander, yeah. I know. I’m sorry.” Clarke says, sighing and rolling away from her. Lexa turns to looks at her, propping herself up on the pillow. Clarke’s face is unreadable, but there’s something in her eyes that Lexa knows immediately is sadness.

“Hey…” She reaches out to grab Clarke’s hand, intertwining their fingers and Clarke sighs, draping her other arm over her eyes with a groan.

“I don’t wanna cry right now. We’re having a good moment.” She grumbles. Lexa sighs and moves her arm away from her eyes gently.

“We’re going to be okay.” She whispers. Clarke looks at her, a tear rolling down the side of her face into her hair as she sniffs.

“I know. I just…I want to do this more than anything, you know I do. But I’m just worried that we’re going to lose someone again-”

“That’s why we need to watch each other’s backs. We’re stronger than we were last year, Clarke. We’ve been planning and training all year. We’re going to be okay.” Lexa whispers. Clarke smiles and nods once, looking down at their intertwined hands.

“I know. I just…I can’t lose you. Alright?” She mumbles. Lexa smiles.

“I’m not going anywhere.” Clarke simply nods and Lexa touches her cheek before leaning down and kissing her gently. 

“I’ll see you out there?” Lexa whispers against her lips.

“Yeah.” Clarke says, smiling. Lexa chuckles before kissing her once more, then rolling off the bed. She quickly slides into her jeans and wraps her plaid sweater around her waist before jumping onto the bed to kiss her again. Clarke melts into her, her hands reaching for Lexa’s waist to pull her closer. She wishes they could just stop their worrying, stop everything and just stay like this…

“I love you.” She whispers. Lexa’s breath catches in her throat before she smiles.

“I love you, too.” 

She moves away from Clarke hesitantly and Clarke watches her as she moves over to the window. 

 

“Be careful.” Clarke says, and Lexa winks at her.

“Always am.” She opens the window and looks down. Heights have never scared her, of course, but she always manages to hurt herself in some way scaling down the side of the building to get to the bottom. She puts one leg out of the window and reaches for the rope that’s tied to Clarke’s bed that leads down the building. Clarke reaches for her glasses on her bedside table and shoves them on, her eyes taking a few moments to adjust before she walks over to her and helps her out of the window. Lexa positions herself so that both hands are gripping the rope and her feet are pressed against the building, allowing her to practically walk down it. She looks up at Clarke with a grin.

“I can’t get over the sight of you in glasses.” Clarke grins.

“Why? Too nerdy?” Lexa grins.

“No. More like, I’m a secret super spy and you’re my hot analyst girlfriend.” Clarke laughs loudly.

“Now that would be a good movie.” She says, grinning. Lexa rolls her eyes and Clarke leans out of the window and kisses her one last time before Lexa begins her descent. As soon as she reaches the bottom safely, she grins to herself and looks up to see Clarke about 20 feet about her, looking down at her anxiously. She gives Clarke a thumbs up and Clarke smiles before waving goodbye. 

She watches Lexa walk across the grounds at a brisk pace until she’s no longer in view and she bites her lips before quickly putting on jeans and a shirt and rushing out of the door. She practically sprints up the two flights of stairs that separate hers and Raven’s dorm rooms, and knocks on the door wildly. She hears groaning and the shouts of Raven before the door opens and a bleary eyed Raven looks at her grumpily.

“Yes, Bellamy is working the gate until 11, so Lexa’s safe.” She says with a sigh. Clarke lets out a sigh of relief before grinning at her best friend and Raven rolls her eyes before moving aside to let Clarke in. Clarke walks into her dorm and crashes down on her bed and Raven sits down beside her.

“Glasses look so weird on you.”

“Seriously?” Clarke says, looking at Raven in mock anger before groaning and crossing her arms over her chest with a sigh. Raven laughs before poking her arm.

“Did you have fun last night?” She says, raising an eyebrow and winking at her. Clarke rolls her eyes and slaps her knee playfully.

“None of your business.” 

“You so did.” Raven says, laughing. Clarke shakes her head and tries her best not to blush, instead focusing on the ceiling and how many shapes are in the paint-

“You’re blushing!” Raven says, laughing loudly.

_Damn it._

“Shut up.” Raven ducks the pillow Clarke throws at her and instead pats Clarke on the thigh before lying down beside her.

“Hell, I’d jump Lexa, too. Nice job, Griffin.” 

“Thanks, I think.” Clarke says, chuckling lightly. Raven sighs before suddenly grabbing Clarke’s hand and holding it tightly.

“You think we’re gonna be okay tonight?” She asks gently. Clarke squeezes her hand.

“We’ll have each other’s backs. It’ll be different from last year.” Raven turns to look at her and Clarke notices tears in her eyes.

“I hope so.” She whispers. Clarke sighs.

“I do, too.” 

There’s a soft knock at the door before it opens and Bellamy suddenly walks through, a smile on his face as he sees Clarke and Raven. He takes off his security cap and sighs as Raven jumps up from the bed and walks over to him.

“How was it?”

“Boring.” He says, grinning as she leans forward and kisses him gently. Clarke sits up straight and looks at him.

“Did Lexa-”

“She got out before my shift ended, don’t worry.” He says, rolling his eyes. Clarke sighs in relief.

“Thanks, Bellamy.” Her phone suddenly vibrates in her pocket and she looks down to see a text message from Lexa.

_Got to the safe-house. Going over some plans, but can do breakfast in half an hour. See you there?_

She grins and looks up at Bellamy and Raven, who are staring at each other in a mix of anxiety and love, and Clarke can’t help but smile.

Raven was far from over Finn, and Clarke couldn’t think of anyone better to understand that than Bellamy. The relationship was fresh, only a month old, but there had been hints for a while now, in the way Bellamy would continuously check in on her in the weeks after the Purge, in the way Raven would grip his hand tightly whenever she had flashbacks to that night and the way he would rub her back and grip her hand back just as tightly, letting her know that he was there for her…

Clarke was glad that they’d decided to move forward in their relationship, and even happier that Bellamy was letting Raven control the relationship, letting her decide when she was ready to move on. Clarke saw them as a perfect match for each other, a perfect balance. They complimented each other.

“She said breakfast in half an hour, you down?” Bellamy shrugs.

“Yeah. We might as well stay there, too. No point in coming back to campus when we’re heading out again.” Clarke nods once. 

“I’ll go see my mom.”

“I’ll get Octavia, meet you at my car in 15?” Clarke nods again and touches both their shoulders before walking out of Raven’s dorm and heading toward the Professor’s Lounge where she’s sure her mother will be. 

She can’t believe that she’s actually making a conscious decision to participate in the Purge tonight. Never in a million years did she think she would participate in something has horrible as the Purge. But she knows she’s doing the right thing here. Lexa was fighting for something so important, and Clarke couldn’t let her fight alone. After everything she witnessed last year…all those innocent people, Anya, Finn…she couldn’t let it go.

She needed to fight. She had to fight. For them. For everyone. 

She knocks on the door to the Lounge and hears a soft voice say ‘Enter’. She opens the door and walks in and is surprised to see her mother talking with Jaha. 

“Mom?” Her mother turns and smiles softly at her and she turns her attention to Jaha, who is staring at her sternly. Before her mother can even get a word in, Jaha begins talking.

“I heard Miss Reyes, the two Blake siblings and yourself are participating in the Purge tonight?” He says, his tone accusatory. Clarke lifts her head up high.

“Yes, we are. We’re fighting with Lexa’s army.” Jaha’s jaw clenches.

“I don’t think that’s wise.”

“I don’t really care what you think.” 

“Clarke-” Her mother starts, but Jaha raises his hand and smiles at her.

“It’s alright. She’s over 18, I can’t stop her even if I wanted to. But just know that every action has a reaction, Miss Clarke.” Clarke can’t help the anger that boils inside her and she grits her teeth.

“You’re right. The people who participate in the Purge to murder innocent people for no reason? That’s their actions. And Lexa’s army...OUR army…we’re the reaction.” She says. Jaha simply narrows his eyes and nods before looking at her mother.

“Abby.” He says simply, and he walks past Clarke without even looking at her, shutting the door behind him. Clarke looks at her mother and her mother can tell a rant is coming because she shakes her head.

“Ignore him. He’s being…overdramatic. I’m proud of you.” She says shakily, tears forming in her eyes and Clarke bites her lip, trying to stop her own tears from forming.

“We’re leaving in a bit. Lexa invited us to breakfast and Bellamy said we might as well stay out there instead of coming back…” Abby lets out a shaky breath and nods once, smiling at her tightly.

“Okay.” Clarke rushes forward and wraps her arms around her mother tightly, and Abby begins crying into her daughter’s hair, her hands gripping Clarke’s back fiercely as if to keep her there.

“I’m gonna be okay, mom. I’ll come back to you, I promise.” 

“You better. You’re all I have left.” Abby whispers, and Clarke feels her heart pang with guilt and she pulls away, looking up at her mother with tears falling down her face.

“I know. But there are people out there who have children who feel the same way. And I can help save those children tonight.” Abby nods furiously and chuckles before removing Clarke’s glasses and wiping away her tears, letting out a shaky laugh.

“You look like your father with these glasses.” Clarke’s heart drops and her mother smiles sadly.

“I’m so proud of you, Clarke. I’m proud that you’re fighting with Lexa, saving people’s lives. And your father…he would be proud, too.” She whispers. Clarke buries her head into her mother’s chest and sighs, not wanting to let her go, but knowing she has to and Abby presses a kiss to her forehead before placing her glasses back on her face.

“Be safe. All of you.”

“We will.” She makes her way out of the Lounge, wiping the tears from her eyes and takes one last glance at her mother, who watches her go with a sad smile. Every part of her wants to stay with her, but she knows she’s doing the right thing here. Even her mother agrees…this is the right thing to do.

She makes her way toward the car park, observing all the students who are lounging on the grounds and enjoying some sports games and when she reaches Bellamy’s car, she finds Octavia with Bellamy and Raven, all of them waiting for her.

“Did you say goodbye to your mum?” Raven asks. Clarke nods.

“I did-”

“CLARKE!” She spins around in shock to see her mother running across the grounds toward her with incredible speed that Clarke has never seen before. She practically barrels into her and Clarke grunts at the impact, but hugs her mother tightly, and is shocked when her mother pulls Bellamy, Raven and Octavia into the hug as well.

“If I don’t see all six of you at that gate tomorrow, I will resurrect you and kill you again, you understand me?” She growls. Bellamy chuckles, and Clarke can hear Octavia beside her ear.

“Six of us?”

“Lincoln and Lexa included.” Abby mutters, and Clarke can’t help but grin against her mother’s shoulder. They all pull away from her and Abby wipes her tears from her eyes.

“Please be safe. All of you, I mean it. I know you want to protect people and keep them safe and I couldn’t be prouder but just…keep yourselves safe as well.” 

“We will. We promise.” Octavia says. Abby nods once and touches Clarke’s cheek before sighing.

“Okay, go. Before I change my mind and chain you all here and never let you go.” Clarke touches the hand on her cheek before squeezing it and letting it go, jumping into the backseat of Bellamy’s car, and as soon as Bellamy starts the car, her mother steps back. Bellamy starts driving out of the carpark, and Clarke sticks her head out of the window.

“I LOVE YOU!” She shouts. She sees her mother smile and she cups her hands around her mouth before shouting.

“I LOVE YOU, TOO!” Clarke grins before moving back into the car and looking at Octavia who is sitting beside her.

“Lincoln is joining us for breakfast, right?” Clarke asks her. She smiles.

“Yeah.” Clarke nods once, and the rest of the drive is silent until they reach the City.

It’s quiet, but there’s the odd shout of fear as people bustle around the street, some of them looking around anxiously as if they expect to get attacked before the Purge even starts.

These are the people she’s fighting for, Clarke realizes. She feels Octavia’s hand grips hers and she squeezes it back.

“They’re all so afraid.” She says, and Clarke nods.

“So are we. But we’re going to fight. For them.” Octavia clenches her jaw before nodding once and Clarke sees Raven grip Bellamy’s hand in the passenger seat. They pull up to J’s Diner, the place they always got breakfast at whenever they managed to get into the City, and Clarke practically rips the door open and rushes into the Diner.

Lexa is sitting with Lincoln at the Diner, a whole buffet full of breakfast foods in front of them and Clarke grins as she approaches them.

“Murphy’s a good asset, he’s done amazing in training so far-” Lexa cuts off when she sees Clarke approaching and she grins widely, standing from her seat.

“Hey.” Clarke kisses her and she chuckles against her lips before kissing her back, and she takes Clarke’s hand and drags her down to sit beside her.

“Ready for tonight?” She asks. Clarke smiles and squeezes her hand.

“As long as I’m with you, I’m ready for anything.” Octavia suddenly groans and Clarke looks at her in shock as she sits down beside Lincoln, looking at them both in exasperation. 

“That was literally the cheesiest thing I’ve ever heard in my life.” Clarke glares at her as Lexa laughs and Octavia winks at her as Bellamy and Raven sit beside them.

“It’s okay, I like the cheesy stuff you say.” Lexa whispers to her, and Clarke grins.

“Thank you!” She grabs a pancake on and shoves it onto her plate and she notices Lexa staring at her, and is shocked to see tears in her eyes.

“You okay?” She asks gently. Lexa sighs and looks at her with a smile.

“Exactly a year ago, Anya and I were here, doing the exact same thing we’re doing now.” Clarke’s heart drops and she leans in, pressing a soft kiss to Lexa’s temple.

“She’s still here with us. So is Finn.” Clarke says softly. Lexa nods once and grips her hand.

“I’m sad that she didn’t get to do this again with me. But I’m glad you’re here with me. All of you.” She says, looking at Octavia, Bellamy, Raven and Lincoln. Bellamy sighs and lifts his glass.

“To Anya and Finn.” 

“Anya and Finn.” Everyone repeats, and Clarke gulps down a mouthful of water before sighing and looking at Lexa.

“So…are you ready to lead a revolution tonight?” She asks. Lexa smiles.

“I am. As long as all of you will lead it with me?” She says. Bellamy grins widely and Clarke looks at him and Raven, who nods with determination to Octavia and Lincoln, who look ready for war regardless of what they’re feeling emotionally. She looks at Lexa, who is looking at all of them with such determination that Clarke feels the six of them could win this war by themselves if they wanted to. She squeezes Lexa's hand and nods, nothing but determination flooding through her.

“You’re damn right we will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it! Thanks to everyone who commented, kudo'ed and bookmarked this story, you guys are great! Love you to the moon and back!

**Author's Note:**

> So I don't know if you guys have seen the Purge, but it was basically this concept of every crime being legal for 12 hours one day a year while on every other day it was illegal, and I kind of got this idea in my head of the characters from the 100 being in that situation and well..this was born. I hope you all enjoy it, I've already got the entire fic written, but I don't know how many chapters it'll be. But rest easy knowing I won't abandon the fic, as it's already pretty much completely done. =P Chapters should be coming in regularly!


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